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Churches are part of the fabric of their local communities. Most of the time, the activities taking place come with little or no additional risk. However, larger events or unusual fundraising activities will need to be appropriately managed so people remain safe.
Managing health and safety at church events
Whatever the event, you need to follow a series of basic tasks. These include:
- Planning for the event – the level of detail should be proportionate to the scale of the event and the degree of risk associated with it.
- Planning for incidents and emergencies – decide on your response so you can react promptly. This will be dependent upon the level of risk presented.
- Managing the event so that it runs safely – ensure adequate coordination of the activities, provide training for employees and volunteers, and monitor the precautions you have put into place.
Church event - Frequently asked questions
Your insurance automatically covers the PCC for any events you organise in the church. Please let us know if you are holding an event that could be dangerous, such as firework displays, clay pigeon shoots, rock climbing or abseiling. We can then give you more details about your cover.
No, the homeowner won’t be covered. We recommend asking them to check if their own household insurance includes personal liability cover. If they’re insured with Ecclesiastical, they will be covered.
Anyone using their own car on behalf of your church should check with their insurers to find out whether they are covered. The driver of the vehicle will be liable for anything that happens, so we recommend that they let their own motor insurer know that they’re offering lifts to and from church.
Yes, your policy will cover you for any event you hold outside of the church, anywhere in the British Isles. Before any event, we strongly recommend that you carry out a risk assessment.
No, but it’s vital you check that the group hiring the building has its own public liability insurance that covers the event they are holding.
If anyone is injured in the church or hall due to negligence of the PCC, you’ll be covered under your church policy.
You will need to check the hirer has their own public liability insurance, and ask for full instructions on how to use the equipment safely. If you follow their instructions, your policy will cover you.
For more information, see our bouncy castle guidance.
Your policy automatically covers hired equipment up to £2,500 for any single item and £10,000 for any event. If you need to arrange more cover than this, call us on 0345 777 3322.
Your policy covers your bell ringers in the church and elsewhere, as long as they are acting for the PCC. It also covers visiting bell ringers if they are injured while they’re on the premises, and if the injury was due to the negligence of the PCC. It won’t cover them if they are responsible for injuring someone else, so it’s worth checking they have their own cover in place.
Unless the coffee shop means there will be a lot more cash held at the church, or you’ll be serving a lot of hot meals on a regular basis, you probably won’t need any extra cover. If you are preparing and serving food, you must train staff and volunteers in basic food hygiene and let your local council know. They’ll tell you whether you need to register as a food service provider. See our advice on preparing food safely.
Low-risk activities, such as a bake sale or bric-a-brac and fête-type stalls, would be considered as a normal church activity, and there is no additional premium.
More hazardous events such as clay pigeon shoots, rock climbing and abseiling should be organised by a competent specialist provider with public liability insurance. In this case, we would not normally charge an additional premium.
Please contact us if you are planning such an event.