Legal advice: New noise regulations

Although some licensees are bemoaning the impact of the smoking ban on profits, it is clear to see that it serves a purpose for non-smoking bar staff by shielding them from the health hazards of unwanted secondhand smoke. The government's concern for employees' health has now gone even further - by seeking to protect them from unacceptable levels of noise.

From April 6, the Control of Noise at Work Regulations 2005 came into effect in relation to the music and entertainment sectors. This means that those who run pubs, clubs, restaurants or any premises where live or recorded music is played will need to think very carefully about the noise levels to which they are exposing their employees.

So, what responsibilities do these new regulations put on licensees? If employees are likely to be exposed to noise of at least 80dB over the course of a working day then a licensee has a duty to carry out an assessment to quantify the risk posed by the noise levels to the health of his employees, to record the results and to act on them. If an employee is exposed to a noise exposure level of more than 85dB, the employer must reduce the noise level as much as is reasonably practicable and must provide hearing protectors. Noise levels should not in any circumstances exceed 87dB.

To give you an idea of what the noise levels mean, the ALMR recently gave the following examples: a loud radio or background music will normally generate 80dB, a noisy bar or nightclub with loud music 95dB, and a live amplified concert will be over 100dB. It seems that noise risk assessments may therefore become a way of life for many licensed premises.What should you do?

If you consider that a member of staff in your premises may be exposed to harmful levels of noise during the time when he or she is working there, then the first step is actually to measure the noise exposure levels. When measuring the amount of noise a person is exposed to, you should take into account all the places where that person will work throughout the day, and when they will work there.

For example, it may be that a person works for four hours during the day in the kitchens, with a low background noise and for four hours at night behind the bar, when a live band is playing. The exposure levels will have to be averaged out over the day or over the week if they vary significantly from day to day.

If it is found that noise levels reach 80dB over the course of a working day then you will have to make available personal hearing protectors for your employees to use, should they request them, and if levels reach 85 dB, you must actually hand out hearing protectors to employees. If there is an area where you cannot reduce the noise levels and they exceed 85 dB, you must designate this area as a 'Hearing Protection Zone' and ensure that no one enters it without wearing hearing protectors.

Call in the noise consultants

You should also consider what other steps you could take to reduce your employees' exposure to work-related noise. You could, for example, simply reduce the music volume, move employees to quieter parts of the premises or reduce the amount of time that employees are working in high-noise-level areas. Further, if your risk assessment shows that there is a health risk to employees, you must provide them with a medical check-up which includes testing of their hearing.

Licensees also have a duty to provide training to employees about noise levels generally, about the findings of the work noise risk assessment you have conducted and how to minimise their exposure to noise.

The new regulations have reduced the acceptable noise exposure levels by 5dB and so, while it is inevitable that the regulations will mean that club owners have to consider noise levels very carefully, many pub licensees will also have to call in the noise consultants to ensure they are not falling foul of the regulations.