Martyn's Law for restaurants and cafés

Larger restaurants, food halls and multi-floor cafés can reach the standard tier threshold at peak service. The duty is about having sensible procedures, not installing new equipment.

Working out your number

Include diners, people waiting, terrace seating and every member of kitchen and floor staff at your busiest sitting.

What good procedures look like

Evacuation

Map routes from each dining area, including through the kitchen, and tell guests to keep moving and disperse rather than gather on the street frontage.

Invacuation

Identify rooms away from glass frontages where guests could wait safely if an incident happens outside.

Lockdown

Make sure front-of-house staff know how to secure entrances quickly and who makes that call when the manager is busy on the floor.

Communication

Kitchen noise and separate floors are the usual blind spots. Decide how a warning reaches every area, including toilets.

Get procedures written for your restaurant or café

Answer questions about your layout, exits and staffing, and your pack turns them into procedures and a staff briefing for your premises.

See the packs

Does Martyn’s Law apply to your venue?

Five quick questions. About a minute. A preliminary check, not legal advice.

1. What type of premises is it?

2. Is that the main use of the building, or the part of it you control?

3. How many people could reasonably be present at the same time, at your busiest?Include staff, contractors and volunteers. Count regular busy times, not a one-off you could not expect.

people

4. How many premises?

5. Do you hold events for 800 or more people?

Choose your type of premises to see your result.

A guide only, based on the Act and Home Office guidance. Your tier depends on the full rules, including exclusions and premises within larger premises.