Gas

Your legal responsibility

As an employer you must comply with the relevant regulations to help ensure worker and public safety. You can do this by following the advice of HSE on maintaining and servicing gas fittings, including gas appliances, and by only using a Gas Safe registered engineer for all your gas installation, maintenance or repair work.

You can check if a person is legally qualified to carry out gas work by checking the official list of gas safe engineers online.

Which laws apply?

• The Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998 (as amended)
• The Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2004.

Reducing risk

• Identify how gas is used on the premises, assess any possible sources of ignition, and regularly service gas equipment and ensure it's kept clear of combustible materials.
• Evaluate the risk of leaks from pipework, fittings, and appliances, as these could cause fires or explosions, particularly in confined spaces.
• Check that all flues and ventilation systems are working properly to allow gas appliances to operate safely.
• Make sure that the gas installation and all appliances are inspected and maintained regularly by a Gas Safe registered engineer, and keep a written record of all maintenance and checks.

Gas installation

In particular, the regulations require gas installation businesses to:

• Register with the Gas Safe Register.
• Demonstrate that they're competent to undertake gas work safely, which is normally done by being assessed against nationally accepted standards.

Installers, landlords and some gas suppliers have a duty to prevent injury to consumers and the public from either carbon monoxide poisoning or fire and explosion.

Landlords have duties to ensure that the gas appliances and flues provided for tenants' use are maintained in a safe condition at all times and checked for safety each year by a Gas Safe Register engineer. The landlord should also give the tenant a copy of the check record.

More information

This is a complicated area, so you should read the section on gas safety on either the Health and Safety Executive website, or on the Health and Safety Executive Northern Ireland website.