Quick answer
Build an emergency plan around foreseeable events, the people affected and the actions needed to reach safety and obtain help. Make alarms, contacts, responsibilities, cover and coordination clear. Test the arrangements through suitable practice and use specialist guidance where the hazards or premises need it.
The plan needs to work when normal arrangements fail
An emergency can happen during a shift change, when the manager is absent or when a normal exit or communication route is unavailable. A plan should address those conditions rather than depend on one person remembering what to do.
HSE’s emergency-procedures guidance covers foreseeable wider-impact emergencies, coordinated responsibilities and realistic practice. It does not make one generic plan suitable for every site or specialist hazard.
1. Identify the events and people to plan for
Review the work and premises for credible emergencies, such as fire, a serious injury, a harmful release or loss of an essential service. Consider workers, contractors, visitors and other people who may be affected.
Include night or weekend work, remote areas and shared premises. Check which events require a specialist assessment or response rather than asking ordinary staff to improvise a rescue or technical shutdown.
| Decision | What the plan needs |
|---|---|
| Recognition and alarm | How the event is recognised and who raises the alarm. |
| Immediate action | How people reach safety and which actions are reserved for trained, authorised personnel. |
| Help and information | How emergency services are contacted and given location, access and hazard information. |
| Coordination | Who takes charge, who covers absence and how neighbouring occupiers are informed. |
| Recovery | Who confirms the conditions for a safe return or restart. |
2. Make the instructions specific and usable
Use simple actions and actual roles. Keep contact information, the site address and access details available where they are needed. Explain the arrangements for people who need assistance and for visitors unfamiliar with the premises.
For fire, GOV.UK’s England and Wales evacuation guidance addresses escape routes, exits, lighting, staff understanding and meeting points. Use the separate Scottish non-domestic guidance and Northern Ireland business fire guidance where applicable.
Agree how responsibilities meet at shared boundaries. A tenant’s procedure must work with the building’s arrangements rather than assume another occupier will take charge of everything.
3. Practise the response and follow up gaps
Hypothetical example. A workshop rehearses a loss-of-service scenario during an evening shift. The nominated coordinator is absent and the cover contact does not have the current access information for emergency responders.
The exercise records the missing information, assigns a person to correct it and tests the revised cover arrangement. Timing the exercise alone would not reveal whether the necessary decisions and handovers worked.
- Can people recognise the alarm and explain their action?
- Can the nominated roles be covered during actual operating hours?
- Can help find and reach the right place?
- Do individual assistance and visitor arrangements work?
- Are changes communicated and retested?
HSE emphasises agreed, recorded and rehearsed plans. Choose the form and frequency of practice to suit the risks and any applicable specialist requirements.
Common gaps to remove
- One unavailable decision-maker. Name and prepare cover.
- Technical actions given to untrained staff. Define safe limits and specialist response.
- An assumed universal evacuation route. Plan for the actual building and relevant scenarios.
- Shared premises without coordination. Agree alarms, communication and responsibilities.
- Restarting by habit. Confirm that serious danger has been addressed and follow the appropriate authority or competent advice.
Next steps
- Identify the scenarios and people the plan must cover.
- Write the alarm, safe action, contacts, roles and cover.
- Coordinate with other occupiers and specialist arrangements.
- Practise, record gaps and check the corrected response.
Read HSE’s emergency-planning guidance — Use the official points to check the site-specific plan and identify specialist needs.