Do You Legally Need an Evacuation Chair? UK Requirements Explained
This blog is intended as a general guide to help you understand what UK legislation affects evacuation chairs.
Do you legally need an evacuation chair?
In most cases, there is no UK law that automatically requires every business or building to have an evacuation chair. However, businesses and other organisations do have legal responsibilities to ensure that people can evacuate safely in an emergency.
Whether an evacuation chair is needed will depend on factors such as the building, the escape routes, the people who use the premises and the findings of the fire risk assessment. For some organisations, an evacuation chair may be an appropriate part of the evacuation arrangements. For others, different measures may be more suitable.
This article explains the main legal responsibilities that businesses and Responsible Persons need to understand when considering evacuation chairs.
Evacuation chair legal requirements
In the UK, evacuation chairs are not explicitly mandated by name. However, the law requires businesses to ensure that everyone, including those with mobility, visual, hearing, cognitive, or neurodivergence impairments, temporary injuries, or medical conditions, can safely exit a multi-story building during an emergency. You will see that there are overlapping requirements and responsibilities mandated by these pieces of legislation.
Three key pieces of legislation govern this responsibility:
The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 (FSO)
The Equality Act 2010
The Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974
What Does the Fire Safety Order Require?
The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 (FSO) places a legal duty on the person who has control of the premises. The designated "Responsible Person" must conduct fire risk assessments and develop an emergency evacuation plan that accommodates all building users. Since lifts are disabled during fires, stairs often require specialised equipment like evacuation chairs
The FSO applies to almost all commercial and public premises, including workplaces, open-air venues, and common areas in multiple-occupancy houses (HMOs).
Under the FSO, the Responsible Person must:
Carry out and record a fire risk assessment: Identify potential fire hazards and the people at risk.
Implement general fire precautions: Reduce the risk of fire and ensure people can safely escape in an emergency.
Plan for emergencies: Establish and maintain clear emergency routes, exits, fire detection systems, and firefighting equipment.
Provide information and training: Ensure employees and relevant personnel receive adequate fire safety training and instructions.
The Equality Act and Emergency Evacuation
The Equality Act 2010 requires employers and service providers to make reasonable adjustments where disabled people would otherwise be placed at a substantial disadvantage. In an emergency evacuation, this may include making suitable arrangements to assist a disabled person to leave safely. An evacuation chair may be appropriate in some circumstances, but it is not automatically required for every disabled person or every building.
Under this Act and the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, referenced above, simply having a piece of equipment is not enough. The legal requirements for your business or facility dictate that:
Personal Emergency Evacuation Plans (PEEPs). When an individual may not evacuate safely without assistance, a Personal Emergency Evacuation Plan (PEEP) may be appropriate. The plan should be developed with the individual and should identify the assistance, equipment and procedures required. We covered this topic in a previous article here.
Trained personnel must be assigned to operate the evacuation chairs, as the equipment without trained staff is non-compliant.
Regular maintenance is required, meaning chairs must be serviced according to manufacturer guidelines to ensure they function safely during an incident.
The Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974
The Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 provides a broader framework for protecting the health, safety and welfare of employees and others who may be affected by work activities. In the context of emergency evacuation, this supports the need for suitable planning and arrangements to reduce foreseeable risks.
The Act directly affects the implementation and management of evacuation chairs in the following ways:
Duty of Care and Accessibility
Equipment Safety and Maintenance (PUWER)
Operator Health and Safety
Duty of Care and Accessibility
Comprehensive Protection: Employers must protect everyone in the building, including staff, visitors and contractors. If an emergency like a fire occurs and lifts cannot be used, failing to provide a way for individuals with restricted mobility to navigate stairs is a breach of this duty.
Planning (PEEPs): The requirement to protect employees necessitates the creation of Personal Emergency Evacuation Plans (PEEPs). These individualised plans often identify the need for evacuation chairs to safely bypass stairs.
Equipment Safety and Maintenance (PUWER)
Depending on how an evacuation chair is provided and used in the workplace, other health and safety requirements relating to work equipment and its safe use may also be relevant. Organisations should ensure that equipment is suitable, maintained and used by people who have received appropriate instruction and training.
Suitability: Chairs must be suitable for the specific environment, staircase types, and the weight of the intended user.
Maintenance: Organisations must keep the chairs in safe working order, which requires routine visual inspections, recording service logs, and scheduling annual maintenance by competent engineers.
Operator Health and Safety
The Act focuses just as heavily on the people operating the evacuation chair as the passengers being transported:
Manual Handling: Operating a chair down stairs carries manual handling risks. Employers are required to provide appropriate training to ensure operators do not suffer musculoskeletal injuries.
Competency: Only willing, trained, and physically able staff should operate the chairs. Refresher training should be provided at appropriate intervals, taking account of the level of risk, how frequently the equipment is used, staff changes, changes to the building or evacuation arrangements, and the competence of the operators.
Common Mistakes Businesses Make When Considering Evacuation Chairs
When deciding whether an evacuation chair is needed, businesses may focus on purchasing the equipment without fully considering the broader evacuation arrangements. The following are some common mistakes to avoid:
Assuming Every Business Needs an Evacuation Chair
There is no automatic legal requirement for every business to provide an evacuation chair. The need for one should be determined by the circumstances of the premises, the people who use it and the findings of the fire risk assessment.
An evacuation chair may be an appropriate solution in some situations, but other arrangements may be more suitable in others.
Buying Equipment Without Providing Training
An evacuation chair is only useful if people know how to operate it safely. Staff should receive appropriate practical training and understand their responsibilities as part of the emergency evacuation arrangements.
Simply storing an evacuation chair on a landing or next to a staircase does not, by itself, ensure that people can be evacuated safely.
Assuming the Equipment Will Be Suitable for Every Situation
Different buildings and staircases present different challenges. Before purchasing an evacuation chair, organisations should consider factors such as the type and width of staircases, the weight of the intended user, storage arrangements and the number of trained operators available.
The equipment should be suitable for the environment in which it is intended to be used.
Relying on a PEEP Without Testing the Arrangements
A Personal Emergency Evacuation Plan should describe practical arrangements that can actually be implemented during an emergency. Where an evacuation chair is part of the plan, the relevant operators should be trained and the arrangements should be practised where appropriate.
A plan that has never been tested may not work as expected when it is needed.
Failing to Consider Staff Absence
An evacuation plan should not rely on one specific person always being available. Organisations should consider holidays, sickness, shift patterns and staff turnover when identifying who may provide assistance.
Where an evacuation chair is used, there should be enough appropriately trained people to support the arrangements in practice.
Neglecting Maintenance and Accessibility
Evacuation chairs should be kept in a suitable location where they can be accessed quickly and should be maintained in accordance with the manufacturer's instructions.
Equipment that is damaged, obstructed or difficult to access may not be available when it is needed most.
Failing to Review Evacuation Arrangements
People's needs, staffing arrangements and buildings can all change. Evacuation arrangements should therefore be reviewed when there are significant changes to the individual, the workplace, the building layout, the equipment or the emergency procedures.
Regular reviews help ensure that the arrangements remain suitable and effective.
Conclusion
The first step in ensuring compliance is carrying out a risk assessment of the premises. This will identify if evacuation chairs are needed. The risk assessment will also identify general precautions to ensure everyone can safely escape in an emergency.
If a need for evacuation chairs is identified, personnel must be trained in their correct and safe use, and Personal Emergency Evacuation Plans (PEEPs) must be created for identified individuals. Once this is in place, the chairs must be kept in safe working order through regular maintenance.
It is also important to review PEEPs regularly, as individual needs may change; you can read more in our articles on PEEPs. And finally, carry out regular training to keep skills current.
If your organisation is reviewing its fire safety procedures or requires advice on risk assessments, evacuation chair training or emergency evacuation planning, our experienced team can help you develop practical solutions that protect your people and support your legal responsibilities.
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