Creative Industries

Set up and run a safe broadcasting operation

Broadcasting involves studios, control rooms, outside broadcasts and transmission sites. Whatever you broadcast, this is the universal spine. It takes you through your core workplace health and safety duties — including the sector hazards around rigging, electrical equipment, working at height and display screen equipment — fire safety, employers' liability insurance, equality and data protection.

UK-wide
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UK-wide

Related guides in Compliance & Legal

Broadcasting — television, radio and on-demand programme production — involves studios, control rooms, outside broadcast locations and transmission sites. The duties in this guide apply to running the operation and employing people, whatever you broadcast. Get this spine in place first, then layer the Ofcom licensing and content-standards duties on top.

Health and safety is a reserved matter across Great Britain, regulated by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE). Northern Ireland has a parallel regime under the Health and Safety Executive for Northern Ireland (HSENI); the underlying duties are equivalent across the UK. Work through the sections below in order.

A. Meet your general health and safety duty

The Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 is the foundation. You must ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health, safety and welfare of your employees and of anyone else affected by your work. In broadcasting that means risk-assessing studio sets and lighting rigs, electrical equipment in control rooms, outside broadcast locations — including working at height on scaffolding, gantries and temporary structures — and prolonged use of display screen equipment. Provide safe systems of work, and train and supervise your people.

B. Manage fire safety

Studios, control rooms, offices and transmission buildings all need a fire risk assessment. The responsible person must carry out and maintain it, and put fire-safety arrangements in place — including safe storage of any flammable materials used in set construction. The duty is devolved: the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 in England and Wales; the Fire (Scotland) Act 2005 and Fire Safety (Scotland) Regulations 2006 in Scotland; and the Fire and Rescue Services (Northern Ireland) Order 2006 in Northern Ireland.

C. Hold employers' liability insurance

As soon as you employ anyone, you must hold employers' liability compulsory insurance — normally at least £5 million of cover — and display or make available the certificate. This is a legal requirement across Great Britain, with an equivalent duty in Northern Ireland.

D. Meet your equality duties

As an employer you must not discriminate against, harass or victimise people because of a protected characteristic. In Great Britain this is governed by the Equality Act 2010; in Northern Ireland separate equality legislation applies, enforced by the Equality Commission for Northern Ireland. For broadcasters, Ofcom licence conditions reinforce equal-opportunities and training obligations, and access-services requirements (subtitling, signing, audio description) under the Communications Act 2003 apply to licensed television services.

E. Handle personal data lawfully

If you process personal data — about staff, contributors, competition entrants and audiences — you must comply with the UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018, and in most cases pay the data protection fee to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO). This applies UK-wide. A journalism and special-purposes exemption may apply to some editorial processing, but the core obligations around staff and audience data remain.

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    1. Write your health and safety risk assessments

    Assess your studios, control rooms, rigging and lighting, electrical equipment, outside broadcast locations (including working at height), and display screen equipment, and put safe systems of work, training and supervision in place under HASAWA 1974.

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    2. Carry out your fire risk assessment

    Assess fire risk for your studios, control rooms, offices and transmission buildings under the fire-safety regime for your nation, including safe storage of any flammable set-construction materials.

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    3. Take out employers' liability insurance and register with the ICO

    Arrange at least £5 million of cover before anyone starts work, and pay the data protection fee unless you are exempt.

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    4. Meet your equality and access-services duties

    Do not discriminate under the Equality Act 2010 (or separate NI equality law enforced by the ECNI), and check whether Ofcom licence conditions impose access-services obligations on your television service.

What to do next

This spine covers the duties every broadcasting operation shares. On top of it, you need the right Ofcom licences and must meet the Broadcasting Code and PECR privacy rules:

Official sources

Authoritative health and safety and data-protection guidance.