Martyn's Law for shops and retail

Shops fall under the "shops and services" use in Schedule 1 of the Act. That covers premises used for the retail sale or display of goods, or the provision of a service, mainly to visiting members of the public. It includes high-street shops, supermarkets, department stores, garden centres, banks, salons and showrooms.

Your shop is covered only if it is reasonable to expect 200 or more people on the premises at the same time, from time to time, and that includes staff. Most shops that are covered will be in the standard tier, from 200 to 799 people. The free checker will confirm where you sit.

Most independent shops are below 200

To be straightforward about it, most single-unit independent shops will not reach 200 people inside at once, even on their busiest day. The Home Office's scope examples include a shop with about 150 people at typical times, which never reaches 200, and conclude that it is not in scope. If that describes you, you have no legal duty under Martyn's Law.

Shops that may cross the line

Some retail premises are more likely to reach 200. Large supermarkets and department stores, big-box and DIY stores, garden centres with outdoor sales areas and cafés, farm shops with restaurants, and busy units in shopping centres may all do so at peak times. The Act covers a building together with the land that goes with it, so outdoor sales areas and plant yards that form part of your premises count towards the total.

Footfall is not the same as people inside

The test is how many people are present at the same time, not how many visit in a day. A shop that serves a thousand customers on a Saturday may only ever have sixty inside at once. The Home Office gives the example of a stately home that receives 850 visitors in a day but, once arrival times and how long people stay are taken into account, never has more than 300 present at one time. The same reasoning applies to shops.

Count your busiest regular trading period. The Saturday before Christmas, the first day of a sale or a bank holiday weekend counts if it happens every year. A one-off opening event that will not be repeated does not.

The responsible person is whoever has control of the premises for their use as a shop. For an independent shop that is usually the business itself: the company, partnership or sole trader that runs it. The statutory guidance gives the example of a company leasing a building as a shop, and concludes that the company operating the shop under the lease is responsible, not the owner of the building.

On a retail park, each retailer controls its own unit and is the responsible person for it if the unit is in scope. In a shopping centre, the centre operator is usually responsible for the premises overall, including the malls, entrances and common areas, while larger units can qualify separately with their own responsible person. Where premises sit inside other qualifying premises, the responsible persons must co-ordinate so far as reasonably practicable. The guidance describes a shopping centre operator and its tenants co-ordinating to avoid conflicting evacuation plans and to complement each other's lockdown and communication arrangements.

If you trade in a shopping centre, ask centre management for their procedures and make sure your staff know how the two fit together. Whoever holds the duty cannot pass it to a contractor such as a security company. Record the position on a responsible person and SIA notification record.

The Home Office describes six methods for working out expected numbers. For shops, the most useful are usually:

• Your own records. Footfall counters, till transaction data and your knowledge of your busiest hours often give the fairest picture of how many people are inside at once.
• The fire safety occupancy figure. A useful upper limit, and the right figure to use if your shop is often full.

Add the staff on that shift, including anyone in the stockroom, the café, the warehouse area open to customers or on concession counters. Write down your figure, the method and your reasoning in a capacity assessment record, because the SIA can ask how you reached it. Our guide on how to work out your capacity explains every method.

If you are covered, the Act requires procedures for evacuation, invacuation, lockdown and communication, so far as reasonably practicable. Retail premises have a mix of public and staff-only areas that shapes each of them.

Evacuation

Staff know the stockroom, the loading bay and the staff exit; customers do not, and most will head for the door they came in through. Your evacuation procedure should say who opens which exit and leads customers through, and where everyone goes once outside, away from the shop front. In a shopping centre, follow the centre's routes and assembly points so that you do not send people into each other's path.

Invacuation

If the danger is outside, such as an incident in the street or the mall, bring customers in and move them away from the windows and glazed doors. A stockroom, back office or staff area is often the safest place to gather. The steps are in the invacuation procedure.

Lockdown

Shutters and automatic doors can secure a shop front quickly, which is a real advantage. Use them with care: lockdown is about keeping a threat out and people safe, not trapping customers in with a danger that is already inside. Your lockdown procedure should say who decides to lower the shutters, which inner rooms can be locked, and how people inside are kept informed.

Communication

Tills and service desks are where customers look for staff, so treat them as communication points. If you use a PA or staff radios, agree a short code for each procedure so staff can act without alarming customers. In a shopping centre, know how the centre will alert you and how you alert it. Short scripts are in the communication procedure.

When calling 999 and unable to speak, stay on the line, listen to the call handler and press 55 when prompted.

Staff turnover is the biggest practical challenge in retail. Part-time, seasonal and younger staff come and go, so briefing has to be part of every new starter's induction rather than a once-a-year exercise. A one-page staff briefing sheet, signed on the first shift and recorded in a briefing and review log, is the simplest way to do it. Brief your Christmas temporary staff before your busiest weeks, not after.

If your honest figure is comfortably below 200, the Act does not apply to you and there is nothing to notify. Keep a short note of how you reached the figure, and look at it again if you expand, add a café, take on a larger unit or start holding regular events. Some shops below the threshold still choose to brief their staff on simple procedures; that is a matter for you.

1. 01Count the people inside at your busiest regular trading period, staff included, and write the figure down.
2. 02If you are under 200, keep that record and review it when your trade changes.
3. 03If you are over, confirm who the responsible person is and who acts for them, and speak to your centre management if you have one.
4. 04Walk the shop with your team and agree exits, the invacuation space and how shutters are used.
5. 05Write down your four procedures, put a wall poster in the staff area and add the briefing to your induction.

The law does not require a written document at standard tier, but the statutory guidance says documenting even simple procedures is good practice, and it makes briefing new staff quick and consistent. Our Standard Tier Pack prepares all ten documents for your shop from £79 a year. See pricing. It is a set of templates to review and adopt, not legal advice.

For the wider picture, read Martyn's Law explained and the full list of covered buildings.