UKHospitality publishes new incident guide for venues

UKHospitality has launched a new guide to help venues respond to incidents ranging from power outages to food safety concerns.

The guide, sponsored by compliance firm Food Alert and available exclusively to UKHospitality members, sets out businesses’ responsibilities and provides practical examples of how to manage incidents. 

It covers issues such as enforcement, allergens, customer complaints, flooding, food crime, and failures in water or power supply.

Elements of the document have assured advice under UKHospitality’s primary authority partnership with Cornwall County Council. 

This means businesses that follow the guidance can be confident they are complying with legal requirements.

The guide was launched at UKHospitality’s food seminar Serving Britain: the future of food.

Allen Simpson, chief executive of UKHospitality, said: “Hospitality venues are live, working environments and, invariably, incidents will happen which we’re unable to predict. Thorough preparation and knowing what to do when an incident does occur is so important, for both staff and customers.

“Whether it’s a loss of power, a flood, or a safety incident, our new Incident Guide provides businesses with the tools they need to deal with the incident on a practical basis and comply with their legal requirements.”

Fraser Parramint, managing director of Food Alert, added: “The Incident Guide offers clear, actionable steps that empower teams to respond confidently and compliantly to a wide range of scenarios. In high-pressure environments like hospitality, having structured, expert-led guidance is critical, not just for legal compliance, but for maintaining customer trust and business continuity.”