What every hotel and holiday park needs to know, and why it matters when advisers retire.
If you run a hotel or a holiday park, you have probably seen the phrase "competent person" and wondered what it actually means, or whether it applies to you. The short answer is that it is a lot simpler, and a lot less daunting, than the jargon makes it sound.
You do not need a particular certificate on the wall or a mountain of paperwork to have a competent person. In plain terms, it just means having someone with the right training, knowledge and experience to spot the risks on your site and help you deal with them sensibly. For a hotel or holiday park, that is someone who understands both the day-to-day reality of running the place and the practical side of keeping it safe.
Having someone in that role is expected of any business, and it is one of those quiet things that makes everything else easier. When you have the right person on hand, health and safety stops being a worry you carry around and becomes something that is simply looked after.
On paper it can feel like a formality. In practice, the competent person is the one who keeps everything joined up.
They keep your risk assessments up to date as things change on site. They make sure your management system reflects what you actually do, rather than what a template says you do. And they are the person you can call when something comes up and you would like a second opinion, whether that is a near miss, a new piece of equipment, or a decision you want to get right.
When nobody holds that role, the little things tend to drift. The annual review slips. A risk assessment goes out of date. It is rarely a problem straight away, but it is a lot easier to stay on top of than to catch up on later.
You can look inside your own business first. If you have someone on the team with the right knowledge and the time to do it properly, they can take it on.
The catch for most hotels and parks is that the people who could do it are already flat out running the place, and health and safety ends up being squeezed in around everything else. That is where a bit of outside help makes sense. An external competent person gives you the expertise without adding another full-time job to someone's plate.
It is worth thinking about now for a specific reason. A lot of hospitality and leisure businesses leaned for years on one trusted adviser to fill this role. As those advisers retire, plenty of hotels and parks are finding themselves without anyone in the seat, often without realising the gap is there until they go looking.
Good support is not about piling on paperwork. It is a management system that fits your site, kept up to date, and someone who is there when you need an answer.
For a seasonal business, the natural rhythm is a proper review in the quieter months, so everything is current and your team is ready before the next busy season rather than after the guests have arrived.
We act as the retained competent person for hotels and holiday parks across the hospitality and leisure sector. That means a management system built around your site, an experienced safety professional on hand when you need one, and a yearly review to keep everything ticking over.
If the person who used to look after this has moved on, or you are not sure you have anyone in the role at all, we are happy to help. Get in touch for a friendly chat about where you stand, with no pressure and no obligation.
See how our retained support works: a named competent person on call, an annual review, and practical help through the year.
See Retained SupportIf your adviser has moved on, or you are not sure who holds the role, let's talk it through.