Duty of care for meetings: a guide for organisers

Duty of care for meetings: a guide for organisers

TL;DR: Employers and event organizers have a legal duty of care to ensure the health and safety of all participants at any work-related meeting.This responsibility applies before, during, and after the event, regardless of location or time, requiring thorough planning, risk assessments, and documented safety procedures.

TL;DR:

• Employers and event organizers have a legal duty of care to ensure the health and safety of all participants at any work-related meeting.
• This responsibility applies before, during, and after the event, regardless of location or time, requiring thorough planning, risk assessments, and documented safety procedures.

Duty of care for meetings is the legal and ethical obligation on employers and event organisers to protect the health, safety, and welfare of every person attending a work-connected event. This obligation is grounded in the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 and extends to employees, contractors, attendees, and third parties alike. It does not switch off when a meeting moves off-site or runs into the evening. For corporate event organisers and HR professionals, understanding where this responsibility begins and ends is not optional. It is a legal baseline with real consequences for getting it wrong.

What does duty of care for meetings require under UK law?

The Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 is the primary legislation governing meeting safety responsibilities in the UK. It places a duty on every employer to protect the health, safety, and welfare of employees “so far as is reasonably practicable.” That phrase matters. It means you must act unless the cost or effort of doing so is grossly disproportionate to the risk.

Organisations with five or more employees must maintain a written health and safety policy. That policy must be reviewed regularly and communicated to staff. For event organisers, this means your safety approach cannot live only in someone’s head. It must be documented.

The core legal obligations for meeting organisers include:

• Conducting a risk assessment before every event, proportionate to its size and complexity.
• Appointing a competent person with authority to make safety decisions on the day.
• Providing adequate welfare facilities , including accessible toilets, first aid, and emergency exits.
• Preventing harassment and discrimination , including from third parties such as vendors or speakers.
• Communicating safety procedures to all attendees before and during the event.

Pro Tip: Write your risk assessment before you finalise the venue contract. Identifying hazards early gives you leverage to request changes from the venue before you are locked in.

The scope of responsibility in meetings is broader than most organisers assume. A team away-day at a country hotel, a client dinner after a conference, and a hybrid board meeting all fall within the same legal framework. The location changes. The obligation does not.

How does duty of care apply to meeting venues and contractors?

Organisers retain overall legal responsibility for safety even when they outsource tasks to a venue, caterer, or security firm. Venue insurance does not cover the organiser’s own liabilities. This is one of the most common and costly misunderstandings in corporate event management.

The venue’s public liability insurance protects the venue. Your organisation’s liability for how the event is run, what equipment you bring, and how attendees behave remains with you. Reviewing venue contracts before signing is not a formality. It is the point at which you identify which risks sit with the venue and which remain with your organisation.

When vetting venues and contractors, focus on these criteria:

• Venue compliance certificates : fire safety, electrical testing, and public liability insurance.
• Contractor insurance : confirm every third party carries adequate cover for their specific role.
• Contractual clarity : define who is responsible for each safety function in writing.
• Emergency procedures : confirm the venue has documented evacuation and first aid plans.

The table below shows how responsibility typically splits between organiser and venue:

Safe venue selection is therefore not just about aesthetics or capacity. It is a legal risk management decision. Jigsawconferences has worked with corporate clients since 2003 to identify venues that meet compliance standards, not just event briefs.

Pro Tip: Ask every venue for a copy of their most recent fire risk assessment and public liability certificate before you sign. A reputable venue will provide both without hesitation.

For event accommodation policies linked to multi-day meetings, the same principle applies. If you arrange overnight stays as part of a work event, your duty of care extends to those arrangements too.

What challenges arise from alcohol and harassment at corporate meetings?

Since october 2024, the Worker Protection (Amendment of Equality Act 2010) Act 2023 has required employers to take proactive steps to prevent sexual harassment at workplace-related events. The duty is prevention-focused, not reactive. Waiting for a complaint before acting is no longer sufficient.

Alcohol is a significant risk factor at corporate meetings and social events. The law is clear: alcohol is not a defence for harassment, and an employer who fails to take reasonable preventative steps faces direct legal liability. That liability extends to harassment by third parties, including venue staff, speakers, and external guests.

Practical steps to manage these risks include:

1. Communicate behavioural expectations before the event. Send a clear written reminder of your code of conduct to all attendees. Do not assume people know the rules apply off-site.
2. Set an alcohol policy and enforce it. Drink limits, a cut-off time, and prominent non-alcoholic options all reduce risk. Make the policy visible, not buried in an email footer.
3. Brief event staff and managers. Anyone in a supervisory role at the event must know how to respond if they witness or receive a report of inappropriate behaviour.
4. Designate a named point of contact. Attendees must know who to speak to if something goes wrong. This person should have authority to act, including asking someone to leave.
5. Document your preventative measures. If a complaint arises later, your records of proactive steps are your primary defence.

The duty of care extends to all work-connected events regardless of location or time. An after-conference dinner that runs until midnight is still a work event. The same standards apply.

How should organisers prepare and document safety for different meeting types?

Safety planning should be proportionate to the risk level of the event. A weekly team meeting in a managed office requires common-sense controls. A 300-person annual conference in an external venue requires a formal, documented event management plan. The mistake many organisers make is applying the same light-touch approach to both.

Organisers must appoint a competent person for health and safety oversight at every event. For large or high-risk gatherings, a professional safety advisor is the appropriate choice. For smaller meetings, a knowledgeable internal organiser can fulfil this role, provided they have genuine authority to act on the day, including the power to stop or delay proceedings if a safety concern arises.

The table below outlines proportionate safety measures by meeting type:

Martyn’s Law (2025) requires venues that regularly host 200 or more people to have documented plans for evacuation, invacuation, and lockdown. Many corporate meeting spaces now fall within this scope. Organisers booking such venues must confirm these plans exist and that staff are trained to execute them.

Event finance management for corporate events should include a budget line for safety compliance. Risk assessments, safety advisors, and insurance reviews all carry a cost. Treating them as optional extras is a false economy when the alternative is legal liability.

Venue compliance is a related but distinct concern. A venue can hold all the correct certificates and still be unsuitable for your specific event if the layout, capacity, or emergency access does not match your attendee profile. Always assess the venue against your specific risk assessment, not just its general compliance status.

For events involving catering, food safety and event catering management adds another layer of organiser accountability. Confirm that catering contractors hold current food hygiene certificates and that allergen information is communicated clearly to attendees.

Key takeaways

Meeting safety responsibilities sit with the organiser throughout the entire event lifecycle, regardless of venue, location, or third-party involvement.

The part most organisers get wrong

After working with corporate clients across the UK for over two decades, the pattern I see most often is not ignorance of the law. It is misplaced confidence. Organisers book a well-known venue, see the certificates on the wall, and assume the safety question is answered. It is not.

The venue’s compliance covers the building. Your compliance covers everything else: the risk assessment, the behaviour of attendees, the conduct of your contractors, the alcohol policy, and the emergency response plan specific to your event. These are not the venue’s problem. They are yours.

The second pitfall is treating duty of care guidelines as a pre-event checklist rather than a continuous responsibility. The obligation runs from the moment you start planning to the moment the last attendee leaves. A harassment incident that occurs at 11pm at the post-conference dinner is still your legal problem, even if the formal programme ended at 6pm.

My honest advice: document everything, brief everyone with a supervisory role, and never assume the venue’s insurance is your safety net. It is not designed to be.

— Jigsaw

— Jigsaw

How Jigsawconferences supports compliant corporate meetings

Jigsawconferences has been helping corporate clients find and book venues across the UK since 2003. Our team understands the legal obligations that sit with event organisers and HR professionals, and we factor venue compliance standards into every recommendation we make. We do not simply match you to a space. We help you identify venues that meet your safety requirements, hold the right certifications, and have documented emergency procedures in place. Whether you are planning a small off-site workshop or a large annual conference, contact Jigsawconferences for free venue-finding support that takes meeting risk management seriously from the outset.

FAQ

What is duty of care in the context of meetings?

Duty of care for meetings is the legal obligation on employers and organisers to protect the health, safety, and welfare of all attendees under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. It applies to all work-connected events, whether on-site or off-site.

Does duty of care apply to off-site and after-hours events?

Yes. The duty of care extends to all work-connected events regardless of location or time, including evening dinners and away-days. Employers remain legally accountable for participant safety in meetings held outside the office.

Are organisers liable if the venue has its own insurance?

Yes. Venue insurance covers the venue’s own liabilities, not the organiser’s. Organisers retain responsibility for how the event is run, and should review venue contracts to identify any gaps in coverage.

What does Martyn’s Law require for corporate meeting venues?

Martyn’s Law (2025) requires venues that regularly host 200 or more people to have documented plans for evacuation, invacuation, and lockdown. Organisers booking such venues must confirm these plans exist and that staff are trained to implement them.

How should organisers manage alcohol-related risks at corporate events?

Organisers should set a clear alcohol policy, communicate behavioural expectations to all attendees before the event, provide non-alcoholic options, and designate a named contact with authority to act if an incident occurs. Under the Worker Protection Act 2023, proactive prevention is a legal requirement, not a best practice.