UK construction-safety guidance by the Riskora Editorial Team
Insurance claims data published by the Fire Protection Association consistently lists hot works as one of the top three single causes of large commercial fire losses in the UK — and the underwriter's first question after any such fire is whether a properly issued permit was in force at the time. A hot works permit is not a regulatory requirement under a single named regulation; it is the document that demonstrates the employer has discharged Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 Article 9 (risk assessment), Article 11 (fire safety arrangements) and CDM 2015 duties for the activity. Insurers' policy wordings (RISCAuthority RC7 'Recommendations for Hot Work', FPA Standard 27) make a properly issued permit a condition of cover. This page sets out a UK hot works permit that satisfies the insurer, the principal contractor and the building operator.
Example Permit to Work
Hot Works Permit-to-Work Template — UK
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Required for any activity using open flame, sparks or significant heat where ignition of nearby combustibles is foreseeable — including welding, oxy-fuel cutting, brazing, soldering, grinding with abrasive wheels, bitumen-boiler / torch-applied roofing, blow-torches, and even some hot-air gun applications above defined fuel loads. The permit must be in force for the entire duration of the work and for the post-work fire watch. RISCAuthority RC7 / FPA Standard 27 set the insurance industry expectation; many commercial property insurers void cover for fire damage where work was carried out without a compliant permit. On a CDM 2015 site the permit is issued by the principal contractor's nominated permit issuer; in occupied premises (retail, healthcare, listed buildings) the building operator is typically the issuing authority.
A roofing contractor in Sheffield is torch-applying SBS modified-bitumen membrane to a 320 m² flat roof above an occupied office. The insurer requires a hot works permit per RC7. Using Riskora, the contracts manager issues a daily permit naming the two operatives (one as fire watcher), confirms a 15 m combustible clearance, supplies a charged 25 m hose reel as the primary suppression, isolates the building smoke detection on the floor below with written agreement from the building manager, sets the post-work fire watch at 120 minutes at the roof plus visual inspection of the suspended ceiling below from inside the office, and locks the gas cylinders into a ground-floor external cage at the end of every shift. The 6-page permit-to-work pack exports in 4 minutes per day, the install runs over five days without incident, and the insurer accepts the closeout pack without query.
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Riskora is an assistive document preparation tool. All documents generated must be reviewed, verified, and approved by a competent person before use on site. Riskora does not replace professional safety judgment, and no output should be treated as a legal compliance guarantee.