Do my Staff need a Personal Emergency Evacuation Plan? (PEEP)

A Personal Emergency Evacuation Plan (PEEP) is a critical component of workplace safety.

With this plan in place, you can achieve the highest safety standards across your organisation, and ensure that your emergency response procedures are as comprehensive and carefully considered as possible.

Below, we have shared a complete guide to PEEPs, including their contents, why they are important, and how managers and business owners can identify whether or not a PEEP is required for their workplace.

What is a workplace Personal Emergency Evacuation Plan?

A workplace PEEP is a document that outlines a specific emergency evaluation plan for any individuals in the workplace who have a disability, medical condition, or other special needs.

The plan is created by managers and business owners, often after speaking to their staff member(s) with disabilities, to learn more about their requirements and the aspects of the standard evacuation process that they would find difficult. As such, the plan is carefully tailored to ensure that all of their specific needs are met, and their safety is secured.

What should be included in a workplace Personal Emergency Evacuation Plan?

The information contained in a workplace PEEP should be adjusted based on the specific needs of the individual(s) it is concerning.

Although each PEEP will be unique, a workplace PEEP should include the following details:

• The name and job title of the individual
• The individual’s medical condition or disability
• Details of the type of assistance that they require
• Details of any assistance devices or equipment that they require
• Details of accessible assembly points
• Details of the evacuation routes that the individual could take (considering their accessibility requirements or mobility challenges)
• The person(s) responsible for assisting the individual during the evacuation
• Outlining the best way to send emergency alerts to the individual (including their contact details, if alerts should be sent to a mobile device)
• The individual’s emergency contact
• Details of the emergency procedure training that has been provided (for both the individual and the wider team)
• Details of the practice drills that have taken place (to ensure the evacuation process is suitable)

The plan should be reviewed and adjusted on a regular basis, to ensure that it remains accurate, up to date, and as useful as possible.

What is the difference between a PEEP and GEEP?

GEEP – a Generic Emergency Evacuation Plan (GEEP) is a more generic plan for emergencies. It is designed for use by all members of staff in an emergency (who are able to do so).

PEEP – a Personal Emergency Evacuation Plan (PEEP) is used to outline how people will be evacuated in the event of an emergency. It is a plan that is precisely tailored to support staff members who have a disability that would mean they would find it difficult to respond to a fire alarm, or follow the building’s escape route without aid.

Why are Personal Emergency Evacuation Plans important?

PEEPs are a core component of workplace health and safety standards.

The main reasons why PEEPs are so important include:

• Ensuring that everyone on site will be safe, in the event of an emergency.
• Ensuring your safety standards successfully meet the specific requirements of anyone on site who may have a disability, medical illness, or other special needs.
• Keeping your business compliant with all the associated legal regulations.
• Demonstrating your business’ commitment to equality.
• Ensuring your emergency evacuation plan is efficient, comprehensive and successfully mitigates as many risks as possible.
• Helping your staff to feel safe, comfortable and valued at work.

How to identify whether you need a PEEP for your building

If you are aware of any members of your team with a disability, medical condition or special needs, then you will need to implement a PEEP. To ensure it is comprehensive and practical, you can work with these individual(s) to implement a PEEP that fulfils all of their specific requirements.

You might also find it beneficial to conduct a survey or confidential interview sessions with your employees, and ask them if they have any concerns about the current evacuation procedure, or if they could identify any ways to make it more accessible (either for themselves or others).

To determine whether your site will require a PEEP, you will also need to conduct a risk assessment. During this, you should evaluate your evacuation routes and assembly points (and how accessible they are), and consult the legal accessibility standards that you will need to comply with. If any of these points raise concerns, then you will need to implement a PEEP to mitigate the risks.

Finally, you will need to check the legal requirements that your business needs to adhere to, and ensure that your evacuation procedures are fully compliant with all of the accessibility and emergency preparedness requirements.

On an ongoing basis, consistently review your PEEP(s). Check that they are compliant with both the latest legislation, and any changing needs that the individual(s) may have. You should also keep the individual(s) involved throughout, to ensure that their PEEP(s) are continuing to meet their needs.

If you’d like to find out more about UK fire regulations, or to discuss the most effective fire safety procedures for your business, contact our team for a free quote or to book a site visit.