No one left behind: how hospitality venues can prepare for Martyn’s Law

The devastating 2017 Manchester Arena attack, which took 22 lives, highlighted in the most tragic way how planning gaps can lead to real, life-or-death situations.

Martyn Hett, one of the victims of that terrorist attack, became the focus of a campaign for greater safety, security and communication in public places, and the subsequent inquiry exposed serious failures in planning, communication and preparedness. Alarmingly, it highlighted that there was no specific legislative requirement for venues to have measures in place to protect the public from the threat of terrorism, leaving individual venues to determine their own approach.

‘Martyn’s Law’ is a direct response to those findings and years of hard work by Figen Murray, mother of Martyn Hett. Instead of relying on outdated practices, Martyn’s Law has been designed to encourage venues to take a proactive approach to how they would respond in an emergency situation. This means considering the security measures needed to protect people, how information and instructions would be communicated to staff and visitors, and having clear, tried and tested procedures that ensure staff understand their roles and can act confidently when it matters.

Why Martyn’s Law matters for hospitality

To prepare for Martyn’s Law, most hospitality venues will need to consider how the legislation applies to them and review and update their safety practices. Millions of people visit UK hotels, restaurants, bars and event venues every year and, with fluctuating footfall, high staff turnover rates and older or multi-purpose buildings, planning for safety can be very challenging.

Martyn’s Law introduces two tiers of responsibility depending on the number of people reasonably expected to be present. Standard Tier applies to premises with 200–799 people, while Enhanced Tier applies to those with 800 or more.

For Standard Tier premises, the Responsible Person must notify the Security Industry Authority (SIA) and implement appropriate public-protection procedures. These include evacuation, invacuation – moving people to safer internal spaces – lockdown and clear communication or alert protocols. Staff must understand the emergency procedures in place, the communication protocols they need to follow and their individual responsibilities in helping to protect the public. Procedures should also be tested and reviewed so venues maintain an appropriate level of readiness.

Enhanced Tier premises must meet all Standard Tier duties as well as additional requirements that reflect the greater risks associated with larger, high-footfall environments. This includes appointing a Designated Senior Individual to coordinate compliance, conducting a terrorism risk assessment, maintaining and reviewing a documented security plan, providing relevant terrorism-protection training and implementing proportionate protective security measures designed to reduce risk and minimise harm.

The SIA will have an important role in overseeing these requirements, with formal powers relating to compliance, enforcement and information gathering under the Act, including Sections 12 and 27. For hospitality operators, this reinforces the need to move beyond having procedures on paper and ensure plans are understood, tested and capable of working in practice.

Although venues aren’t required by Martyn’s Law to eliminate all potential threats, they are expected to acknowledge the risks and take reasonable steps to protect everyone. This begins with a realistic evaluation of how an emergency might develop in their building, who would be impacted and what safety resources would be needed. It also means considering how people would be protected during an incident, how clear information and instructions would be communicated to staff and visitors, and how everyone would ultimately be able to move to safety.

Many venues carry out risk assessments, but they are often very basic, outdated or don’t properly reflect the reality of how the building functions on a daily basis. The law demands a plan that takes into account how visitors and employees actually use the building, where they congregate and how they navigate it, rather than a ‘one size fits all’, generic approach.

Bringing fire safety and security planning together

Fire safety has traditionally been treated as something completely separate from security and, therefore, one of the most important changes for operators will be to start viewing them as joint responsibilities that work together in practice. Effective emergency planning means security, communication and evacuation procedures cannot operate in isolation. Staff need to understand the threat, know how to communicate and respond, and be confident in how they will help people reach safety.

The UK’s “Stay Put” guidance, originally created in the 1960s for a different era of buildings and construction, has recommended that those who can’t use stairs independently are taken to and remain in a refuge area, waiting for assistance. While this may work in specific, well-designed residential buildings, it’s neither a reliable nor dignified solution for busy hospitality venues.

Given the modern materials, more complicated layouts, larger crowds and faster-moving incidents in hospitality venues today, relying on people staying in one place is insufficient and unrealistic. In many cases, it would leave those with mobility needs extremely vulnerable and uncertain if help will arrive in time.

Crucially, an evacuation strategy should not be built on the assumption that the Fire and Rescue Service will arrive and evacuate somebody who cannot use the stairs independently. It is the responsibility of the Responsible Person to ensure appropriate provisions are in place so that mobility-impaired employees and visitors can be safely evacuated, rather than relying on the fire service to evacuate people from a refuge area. Refuge areas can form an important part of an evacuation strategy, but they should not become a substitute for having a clear and practical plan for how people will ultimately reach safety.

Martyn’s Law provides the sector with an opportunity to rethink old approaches and put plans in place that truly reflect the buildings of today and the needs of the people inside them.

Inclusive evacuation must become standard

A key lesson from fire safety and major incident reviews is that evacuation procedures often assume everyone can get out quickly and independently, but this is rarely the case, especially in hospitality. Effective emergency planning isn’t simply about identifying a threat or communicating what is happening; venues must also consider whether everyone in the building can act on those instructions and reach safety.

These venues welcome wheelchair users, people with temporary injuries, older guests, pregnant visitors, families with small children and individuals with hidden disabilities. Their needs must be considered right from the start, not as an afterthought.

This is where Personal Emergency Evacuation Plans [PEEPs] and General Emergency Evacuation Plans [GEEPs] come in. A PEEP lays out the specific evacuation needs of an individual who regularly uses the venue, for example a staff member or frequent guest, and a GEEP outlines how visitors who may need help but whose individual needs are unknown would be supported.

Many venues still overlook these plans or rely on refuge areas assuming they are enough, but they simply aren’t. Without a safe, practical escape route, a refuge is effectively just a holding area, not a life-saving solution.

When preparing for Martyn’s Law and reviewing their wider emergency procedures, venues need to think beyond paperwork and consider how an evacuation would work in real life. An actual incident would likely involve lifts out of service, crowded stairwells, reduced visibility and staff under pressure.

Evacuation equipment such as Evac+Chairs are central to this, as they allow guests and staff with limited mobility to move quickly and confidently to safety. But equipment alone isn’t enough – staff need training, plans must be tested and venues need to ensure they can act quickly and decisively in the event of an emergency.

Training, confidence and culture

Hospitality is a people-based sector, so effective safety planning relies heavily on staff feeling confident in an emergency. This all comes down to training, and it needs to be practical, accessible and regularly updated to reflect staff turnover. The goal is to ensure staff not only know how to respond but feel capable of doing so under significant pressure.

That confidence comes from hands-on practice, knowing how to use evacuation equipment, understanding the building layout and pinch points and being clear about who is responsible and when. It also means ensuring staff understand emergency procedures, communication protocols and their responsibilities in helping to protect the public, including how to communicate clear instructions to guests and colleagues when an incident is unfolding. Martyn’s Law encourages a move from theoretical planning to practical preparation and urges venues to make sure their teams are ready, not just informed.

This change is one of the most important steps a business can take for the safety of their staff and visitors. Visitors notice when a venue is well-run and has a trained, confident team, sending a clear message that safety is taken seriously.

A future-focused approach to safety

The aim of introducing Martyn’s Law isn’t to create fear but to encourage accountability and responsibility. It’s an opportunity for hospitality venues to update old protocols that, in many cases, haven’t been changed for decades.

If more venues stop depending on outdated guidance like “Stay Put” and replace it with practical plans that actually reflect today’s buildings and their risks, the sector will be far better placed to protect people when it matters the most.

When thinking about the Law, hospitality leaders should consider the full journey of an emergency: can we recognise and respond to a threat, can we communicate clearly with the people inside our building and, crucially, can everyone get to safety?

That final question is particularly important: “if an emergency happened in our building today, could everyone get out safely?” If there’s any doubt, clearly something needs to change. Whether it’s updating risk assessments, installing evacuation chairs, developing PEEPs and GEEPs or ensuring full staff training, each step contributes to a safer, more resilient venue.

Ultimately, Martyn’s Law is based on the principle that no one should be left to fend for themselves in an emergency. Preparing for this new landscape means venues must consider security, communication and evacuation together, invest in the right equipment and ensure there is a tried and tested plan in place so staff understand their responsibilities and can act decisively in an emergency.

It’s a shared obligation and one that the sector must take seriously to ensure lessons are learned and history doesn’t repeat itself.