Running a successful business in hospitality is enough of a feat in itself. But any successful business owner knows that the health and safety standards in the hospitality industry add another level of challenge.

Hospitality compliance means acquiring licenses, certifications and protocol that accounts for anything that could pose a risk to you or your patrons. Here we break down some of the main issues, and show how Crysp can lighten the load.

Health and safety

Health and safety in the hospitality industry is a cornerstone of compliance for restaurants, bars and similar businesses. Any venue will need to ensure that its staff is aware of the risks and able to respond to things like:

• Fires

• Emergencies

• Kitchen-related accidents

• Disposing of hazardous substances (COSHH)

• Manufacturing guidelines.

  
  

Food safety

All employees who come into contact with food must understand the risk posed by serving food or drink to guests. These hazards can be categorised into three main types:

• Harmful bacteria

• Chemical contamination

• Physical objects in the food

Many of these risks are avoided with robust protocols like checking expiry dates, fridge temperatures and correct labelling. Protocols should follow the principles set out by the Food Standards Agency in the Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) and all staff should understand the importance of hygiene to ensure they work in line with regulation.

Allergens and nutrition

Allergens are incredibly serious and require a lot of attention because a failure to comply can be criminal. Under Natasha’s Law, all pre-packaged food must be labelled with full ingredients and any business serving food has to provide information on 14 specific allergens. Similarly, schools and other venues serving food must be conscious of these compliance laws.

In addition, 2021 legislation has meant that hospitality businesses of a certain size must state how many calories are in their food and businesses can be fined £2500 if they fail to do so.

Food waste

Sustainability within hospitality property compliance is becoming a more pronounced issue. At present, the legislation only requires that waste food has no cross-contamination with fresh food preparation, however, UK legislation in 2023 will introduce mandatory food waste collections.

And this will only become stricter, with aims to recycle 75% of food waste by 2030. Businesses in Scotland that produce over 5 kg of waste food are already subject to having all their food waste recycled.

Facility management

In hospitality property compliance, maintaining safe premises is as important as food safety. With the number of staff as well as customers entering the premises, robust management is required.

Acts like the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 require safety procedures such as regularly testing electrical appliances, whether that be the lights in the public area or the cooking equipment in the kitchen. In addition, water systems must work properly, so they are safe from harbouring Legionella. Even furniture requires safety protocol that ensures they are routinely deemed safe for customers.

Of course, fire regulations need to be stringently followed and need to be made clear to all staff, so they can assist customers and members of the public appropriately in emergencies. Fines up to £5000 can be charged by local fire authorities if measures have not been followed.

Managing numerous facilities can be especially challenging, but our software has been developed to deal with property portfolios. Using an easy-to-use dashboard, you can keep up with property compliance as it relates to your respective premises throughout the year.

Data protection

Now that restaurants, hotels and bars gain much of their information through bookings and online inquiries, data must be considered as it would for any online business. The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) means that businesses, hospitality included, must process their data transparently, and store it safely with private systems. CCTV can also count as staff data and therefore must be protected as such.

Alcohol licensing

The Licensing Act 2003 requires business owners to obtain a premises licence before they sell alcohol. Ordinarily, this is obtained from the local council after making an application containing details of their business and their proposed sale of alcohol.

Of course, there are rules for selling alcohol that centre mostly around protocols for age verification, but also for sale within certain hours. A designated supervisor will need to be appointed to ensure compliance with the licensing conditions. Failure to comply with conditions such as selling alcohol to a person who is drunk or allowing disorderly conduct can be a criminal offence. The clauses of the act are summarised here.

Employment law

There are a range of laws that encourage the fair and balanced treatment of employees. For instance, the National Minimum Wage Act 1998 ensures that employees are paid enough and accordingly to their age. Equally, other regulations mean that there is a limit to how many hours employees can be contracted to work without volunteering to work as many shifts. Our experts also work with offices and retail businesses and have years of experience devising strategies to fulfil these requirements.

Another important aspect of employment law and hospitality compliance is equality and diversity. Under the Employment Act 2010, it’s against the law to discriminate on the grounds of age, gender, marital status, race etc. In order to avoid instances of this, fostering a culture of respect and fairness needs to be worked into the hospitality compliance protocols. This can be done through seminars on certain topics, but also through audits of the work that needs to be done.

How can Crysp help?

It’s no secret that health and safety in the hospitality industry is challenging. The combination of customers, employees and varied machinery makes a hospitality business one of the trickiest enterprises to get right in property compliance. But we’ve got you covered!

Crysp reduces the stress of property compliance with a centralised platform where you can access the documents necessary to carry out risk assessments and audits. Using a traffic light system, you can manage and monitor your state of compliance throughout the year.

There are also plenty of resources and guides available with our service to help you understand and teach your staff how to adhere to hospitality property compliance rules. Plus, our in-person inspectors are always on hand to consult and provide guidance when you need it. Try it for free here.

Want to chat to one of our experts about how Crysp can manage your compliance?