Thanks for the info Simon, I’m sire someone will find it very useful.
Does the size of the building in question affect things? I know health and safety is relaxed if you have less than 5 members of staff.
This annoys me a little, health and safety is never relaxed its just as SimonR said you dont have to have physically recorded risk assessment or health and safety policies but you still have to complete it so why would people not have copies? Its a stupid situation that needs sorting out really, I mean if would help you defend a claim against if you could you it to prove you did it!
I would suggest if someone needs a Fire Risk assessment completing for a building and they didnt have one I would engage the services of a health and safety professional while I was at it because people dont know what they dont know. There will be potentially loads of other stuff that will potentially need looking at especially if its a work place. Legionnaire disease control for example, COSHH, there will also be things that have you a legal obligation to ensure are maintained, things like any lifts, fire alarms. The consequences of not acting can be fairly severe, G4S were recently fined 1.8million because of improper Legionnaire's disease control and you of course have the old corporate manslaughter charge should anything bad happen. Ignorance to accountability is not a defense in court.