Set up and run a safe cultural activities operation

Cultural operations — libraries, archives, museums, galleries, historic houses, visitor attractions, botanical gardens, zoos and nature reserves — are public-facing premises businesses. You manage buildings open to the public, often with collections, displays, gardens or live animals, and you employ staff who may include seasonal workers and volunteers. The duties in this guide apply to running the operation and employing people, whatever kind of cultural activity you carry on. Get this spine in place first, then use the checklist to confirm you have covered everything.

Health and safety law is reserved across Great Britain. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is the regulator in Great Britain and the Health and Safety Executive for Northern Ireland (HSENI) in Northern Ireland; 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 undertaking — which, for public-facing premises, means visitors, contractors and volunteers as well as staff. Risk-assess the premises, displays, visitor circulation, manual handling of collections and any outdoor spaces, provide safe systems of work, and train and supervise your people. National museums and other Crown bodies are bound by the same duty, with Crown censure rather than prosecution as the enforcement mechanism.

B. Manage fire safety

Cultural premises — libraries, archives, galleries and historic houses in particular — can hold irreplaceable collections and attract large numbers of visitors. The responsible person must carry out a fire risk assessment and maintain fire precautions. Heritage buildings may have features that make fire-safety management more complex (limited escape routes, combustible structures, restrictions on alterations). 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 — including seasonal, casual and volunteer-supported staff where an employment relationship exists — 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 and a service provider open to the public, you must not discriminate against, harass or victimise people because of a protected characteristic. Cultural-sector organisations also carry the duty to make reasonable adjustments for disabled visitors — accessible entrances, large-print or assistive provision, audio description, and step-free routes to galleries and gardens. 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.

E. Handle personal data lawfully

If you process personal data — about staff, members, readers, donors, visitors, ticket-buyers or archive enquirers — 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.

F. If you keep zoo animals: obtain a zoo licence

If you run an establishment where wild animals are kept for exhibition to the public — a zoo — you must hold a licence from your local authority under the Zoo Licensing Act 1981 (Great Britain). A new licence runs for four years and is renewable for six years. The local authority grants the licence after inspection by zoo inspectors appointed by the Secretary of State, and your zoo must meet the Secretary of State's Standards of Modern Zoo Practice. Periodic and special inspections continue throughout the licence. Botanical gardens, arboreta and nature reserves with no exhibited wild animals are out of scope. In Scotland the 1981 Act applies as amended by the Zoo Licensing Act 1981 Amendment (Scotland) Regulations 2003. In Northern Ireland the Zoo Licensing Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2003 apply.

G. If you keep dangerous wild animals: obtain a DWA licence

If you keep any animal on the schedule to the Dangerous Wild Animals Act 1976, you need a separate licence from your local authority (Great Britain). The licence runs for two years. A veterinary surgeon appointed by the local authority must inspect the premises before the licence is granted or renewed, and the licence conditions require you to hold adequate liability insurance and to house the animal securely. Where your collection already operates under a zoo licence you are exempt from the separate DWA licence for animals held as part of the zoo. In Northern Ireland the Dangerous Wild Animals (Northern Ireland) Order 2004 applies.

What to do next

This spine covers running the operation and employing people, plus the zoo and dangerous-wild-animal licensing that applies to the animal-keeping subset of division 91. Confirm you have covered everything with the cultural activities compliance checklist, or return to the router if you are not sure which duties apply to you.