HSE refreshes entertainment and leisure guidance

The update integrates developments such as new technologies and evolving work practices into the guidance and has been carried out as part of a HSE routine update. The newly update guidance appears now on HSE’s website with the amendments incorporated into the existing document.

This new ‘basics of health and safety in leisure activities” guidance shows a date of 11 June 2026 on the document.

The hub or “overview” page regarding swimming pools has been updated, and HSE have ensured that all the existing information is now linked, to include both Swimming pool safety management and the current up to date to HSG179 guidance from February 2024 (Health and safety in swimming pools).The refresh has mainly been to remove duplicate content and to put all the links to guidance into one place, separated into categories to make the information easier to navigate and more user-friendly. There does not appear to have been any substantial updates to much of the content itself.

Previously, the HSE website had received piecemeal additions to guidance, resulting in scattered and duplicated information across various pages. Given that the information was not all in one place, there was a risk that operators would be unable to locate information specific to their sector or would need to read around and through irrelevant information on the same page. The refresh has ensured that information is all in one place and easier for duty holders to access. As a result, the size of the HSE website has been significantly reduced. Essentially, the update has been a ‘cleaning-up’ exercise to consolidate and simplify information on operator obligations, with a view to better protect workers, contractors/freelancers, and members of the public alike.

Key changes

One of the most notable changes is the reorganisation and categorisation of the guidance so that information is grouped by sector. As a result, the information is more readily available and accessible, ensuring that it is easier for operators to navigate to the guidance relevant to them. The refreshed categories are as follows:

• Fairgrounds and fairground rides
• Leisure activities (explicitly including swimming pools and sports clubs and to exclude activities covered by The Adventure Activities Licensing Authority (AALA)
• Film, theatre, and broadcasting industries
• Construction and entertainment industry
• Inflatables and bouncy castles
• Children’s play and leisure

Taking for example the construction and entertainment page, the refreshed overview page is a useful starting point to understand the key obligations under the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015 (“CDM”). The page makes it clear that the CDM applies to all construction, including those in the entertainment industry and clarifies that the CDM builds on the general duties of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 and that there is a clear emphasis on regular risk assessment, clear record-keeping and planning. From the updated page, it is now easier to navigate to and view the industry specific guidance.

Another example is the play inflatables category which then separates its overview guidance into “bouncy castles and other play inflatables” and “sealed inflatables”. As with the other categories, these overview pages provide a useful summary and then act as a hub for links to more detailed sector-specific guidance. Key obligations which are emphasised on the page include the need to set-up safely by checking wind conditions, pressure, and blowers, anchoring the inflatable, and ensuring that inflatables are used safely under supervision and monitoring with regular tests and inspections.

The children’s play and leisure overview page takes the opportunity to address misunderstandings surrounding this sector, including the fear of litigation or criminal prosecution for minor risks, and recognises the importance of allowing children to have “challenging play opportunities”. The page then directs to detailed guidance from Play England.

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Why the refresh matters in practice

A recent prosecution from January 2026 illustrates the real-world consequences of poor maintenance and inspection in the leisure and entertainment sectors which reinforces why it is important that HSE guidance is clear, up to date and easy to follow.

Albert, Xhediku, a 34-year-old man, was fatally electrocuted by a floodlight whilst playing football at Mountbatten Leisure centre in Portsmouth. The leisure facilities management firm was fined £60,000 and ordered to pay costs of £40,000 for failing to properly inspect and maintain the floodlight. The firm had also failed in its health and safety obligations, having taken no additional action despite an earlier reported incident of an off-duty police officer suffering an electric shock from the same floodlight.

A key underlying principle of HSE guidance is learning from previous mistakes and taking corrective action. Unfortunately, in that case, failure to comply resulted in an avoidable death. The fatality arose from basic failures in inspection and maintenance, which the updated guidance is designed to prevent through clearer and more accessible guidance on health and safety obligations.

A duty to protect

Crucially, the case also highlights that operator awareness surrounding their health and safety obligations is not just about protecting workers but also the public. The victim had been playing football on the pitch with his friends and had climbed over a fence to retrieve the ball, and made contact with the faulty floodlight. In other words, he had been using the facilities as intended but the leisure firm has failed to ensure that its equipment had been safely maintained.

The refreshed HSE leisure guidance highlights the duty to protect public users of facilities, such as sports centres, reinforcing the importance of robust safety systems in the leisure and entertainment sectors.

Conclusion

The HSE refresh of the entertainment and leisure guidance is a welcome update which clarifies the obligations placed on operators in those sectors. The guidance provides a useful starting point for understanding applicable obligations but should not substitute legal advice.

If you operate within the entertainment or leisure industry and have questions about what the refreshed guidance means for your organisation, please do not hesitate to get into contact with Chris Green in our Regulatory Compliance and Investigations team.