The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 is the main fire safety law for workplaces in England and Wales. It requires a fire risk assessment and places an explicit duty to train staff.
Courses that cover the Fire Safety Order 2005
These 3 ProCompliance courses name the Fire Safety Order 2005 as their governing framework. They are the training this law asks for. Each one states its own accreditation, so no single claim covers the whole catalogue.
Fire Awareness TrainingIOSH approvedCPD accreditedEmployers and the responsible person must arrange suitable fire precautions and training under the fire-safety regime that applies in their UK nation and premises.View infoFree trial: Fire Awareness Training
Read our guides: Fire safety at work, How many fire wardens you need, Fire Door Safety Week and Preventing and responding to fires.
What the Fire Safety Order 2005 requires
The responsible person must give employees “suitable and sufficient instruction and training on the appropriate precautions and actions”. Those precautions are the ones they take to safeguard themselves and others.
The responsible person must give that training when someone first starts work. Then they must give it again when new or increased risks appear. They can come from a transfer, a change of responsibility, new equipment, new technology or a new system of work.
The training must repeat periodically where appropriate, and adapt to new risks. Its manner must also suit the risk that the risk assessment identifies. Finally, it must take place during working hours.
Read the official text on legislation.gov.uk
What the Fire Safety Order 2005 means for training
Fire is one of the few areas where UK law names staff training as an explicit duty. It is a duty in its own right, separate from the general duty. Article 21 also requires it to happen during working hours.
Common questions
Is fire safety training a legal requirement in the UK?
Yes, in England and Wales. Article 21 of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 sets the duty. The responsible person must give employees suitable and sufficient instruction and training. That happens when someone first starts, and again when risks change.
Does fire training have to be in work time?
Yes. Article 21 requires the training to take place during working hours.
This plain English summary is not legal advice. The wording above comes from the official text. This page links to that text, and you should rely on it instead. Some duties depend on your own risk assessment, so only that assessment can tell you what they mean.