Law
Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 (HSW Act)
If you are paid for entertaining, what you are doing probably comes within the scope of the HSW Act [ref. 4]. If you are self employed (even if entertaining is not your main job), you have to look after your own safety and the safety of anyone else who might be affected by what you are doing (section 3 of the Act).
If you are employing other people, you must ensure their safety so far as is reasonably practicable. This includes making sure that the equipment they use is safe and that they are properly informed about possible dangers. You should make sure that they are properly trained and adequately supervised (section 2 of the Act).
If you are an employee (even if this is not your main job), you must make sure that what you do does not injure yourself or anyone else. You must also co-operate with your employer on health and safety matters and must not interfere with, or misuse, anything provided for safety purposes (sections 7 and 8
of the Act).
Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1992
Whether you are an employer or self-employed, you will need to undertake a risk assessment (think about what might go wrong and what you can do to prevent it) of your work activity to identify what control measures you need to take to comply with health and safety law.
In addition, these Regulations require that you co-operate with and co-ordinate your activities with other employers at the venue, so that reasonable steps are taken to ensure health and safety.
Electricity at Work Regulations 1989
Everybody working with or on electrical equipment (even if they are self-employed) comes within the scope of these Regulations [ref. 5]. Further guidance is given in the Memorandum of guidance on the Electricity at Work Regulations 1989 [ref. 6] and the leaflet Electrical safety and You [ref. 7].
Enforcement
The HSW Act is enforced either by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) or by local authority environmental health officers, depending on what usually goes on at the premises. If you have any doubt about safety matters relating to a place of entertainment, please contact your local HSE office or the environmental health department of your local authority. Almost all places of entertainment also need a licence from the local authority. The law does not say what must be contained in the licence. There will usually be requirements for fire precautions (the fire brigade will be involved) and the licence can include conditions relating to electrical safety. If in doubt, please contact the local authority licensing inspector about the need for a licence and any conditions which may apply. If you have a problem with any of the conditions, do not just ignore them but seek help, either from the authority or through your trade association.
