Policies for Hospitality Businesses
Policy Pros writes bespoke policies and procedures for pubs, restaurants, cafes, hotels and catering companies across the UK. Hospitality carries more overlapping regulation than most sectors, and we turn food safety law, licensing conditions, employment duties and fire safety into documents written around how your venue actually runs.
Bespoke, audit-ready policies from £65 + VAT per document. Get a quote or call 020 3951 2875 for a free scoping conversation.
Policies Hospitality Businesses Need
Legally Required
- Food safety management system based on HACCP - Article 5 of Regulation (EC) 852/2004 (retained UK law), enforced by your local authority
- Allergen information and PPDS labelling procedure - Food Information Regulations 2014 as amended by Natasha's Law, in force since October 2021
- Age verification policy - a mandatory condition on every premises licence authorising alcohol sales under the Licensing Act 2003
- Written tipping policy - Employment (Allocation of Tips) Act 2023, wherever tips are paid more than occasionally
- Fire risk assessment, recorded in full - Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, with full recording required for all premises since October 2023
- Health and safety policy - Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, a written statement is required once you have 5 or more employees
- Data protection policy - UK GDPR and Data Protection Act 2018, covering bookings, CCTV and guest records
- Public protection procedures under Martyn's Law - Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act 2025, for venues where 200 or more people may be present, with duties expected to apply from 2027
Expected by Regulators and Clients
- Cleaning schedules and temperature monitoring records - checked at every food hygiene inspection and reflected in your hygiene rating
- Staff handbook with disciplinary and grievance procedures - tribunals expect procedures that follow the Acas Code
- Food hygiene and allergen training records - inspectors ask who was trained, when and on what
- Refusals log and Challenge 25 procedure - expected by licensing authorities and police, and examined at licence reviews
- First aid and accident reporting procedure - supports your RIDDOR duties and is routinely requested by insurers
Food Safety Inspections and Your Hygiene Rating
Every food business must register with its local authority and run documented food safety procedures based on HACCP principles under Regulation (EC) 852/2004. Environmental health officers inspect unannounced, and what they find in your paperwork feeds directly into your public food hygiene rating.
Inspectors expect a food safety management system, cleaning schedules and temperature records that describe your actual kitchen, not a generic template. Our food hygiene policies service builds that document set, and our guide to food business registration covers the step new venues must complete before opening.
Allergen duties add a second layer. Since Natasha's Law took effect in October 2021, food that is prepacked for direct sale must carry a full ingredients list with allergens emphasised, and the Food Standards Agency PPDS guidance sets out exactly which items qualify. Our allergen and food labelling policy article explains what a compliant procedure contains.
Licensing Conditions and Tipping Rules
A premises licence carries mandatory conditions, including an age verification policy such as Challenge 25, and every sale must be made or authorised by a personal licence holder. Licensing authorities can review, suspend or revoke a licence where those conditions are not documented and followed.
Front of house staff also bring the tipping rules into play. Since October 2024 employers must allocate qualifying tips fairly and keep a written tipping policy, and from October 2026 they must consult workers before setting that policy and review it at least every three years. Our guide to the tipping policy consultation requirements from 2026 explains the new duties.
High staff turnover makes consistent employment documents matter more in hospitality than almost anywhere else. Our HR policies and procedures service covers contracts, handbooks and the disciplinary and grievance procedures tribunals expect to see.
Fire Safety and Martyn's Law
Under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 the responsible person must assess fire risk, and since October 2023 the assessment must be recorded in full whatever the size of the business. Sleeping accommodation pushes hotels and pubs with rooms into a higher risk category, so enforcement attention is real. Our guide to fire safety in the workplace covers what the documentation involves.
Martyn's Law adds counter-terrorism duties for larger venues. Premises where 200 to 799 people may reasonably be expected at once fall into the standard tier, and 800 or more into the enhanced tier, with the Security Industry Authority as regulator and the main duties expected to apply from 2027. The government's statutory guidance was published in April 2026, so preparation has started in earnest.
Our Martyn's Law compliance guide explains the tiers, the hotels and hospitality guide applies them to venues like yours, and our compliance documentation service produces the procedures themselves. These sit alongside your wider health and safety policies.
What Policy Pros Delivers
- Bespoke documents written around your actual venue, menu, licence and staffing, not a generic template
- A fixed-price quote before any work starts
- Review rounds included, so you can adjust wording before sign-off
- Final documents supplied on professionally branded templates, ready to show an inspector, licensing officer or insurer
Extremely professional and thorough. The policies were tailored perfectly to our sector and delivered ahead of schedule.
You can read more reviews of Policy Pros on Trustpilot.
How to Get Started
Tell us what you run, whether that is a single cafe or a group of licensed venues, and we will scope exactly which documents you need. You get a fixed-price quote before we start and finished policies within a couple of weeks.
Get a quote or call 020 3951 2875 to talk it through first.
Frequently Asked Questions
What policies does a hospitality business legally need?
Every food business needs a documented food safety management system based on HACCP principles, an allergen information procedure covering PPDS labelling, and a recorded fire risk assessment. Licensed venues must also hold an age verification policy as a mandatory premises licence condition.
On the employment side you need a written tipping policy if staff receive tips more than occasionally, a written health and safety policy once you employ 5 or more people, and a data protection policy for bookings, CCTV and guest records.
Do we need a written tipping policy?
Yes, if tips, gratuities or service charges are paid at your venue more than occasionally. The Employment (Allocation of Tips) Act 2023 has required fair allocation and a written policy available to all workers since October 2024.
From October 2026 you must also consult workers before setting the policy and review it at least every three years, so a policy written now should be built with those duties in mind.
Does Martyn's Law apply to our pub, restaurant or hotel?
It applies where 200 or more people, including staff, may reasonably be expected to be present at the same time. Venues in the 200 to 799 range fall into the standard tier, and 800 or more into the enhanced tier with heavier duties.
The main duties are expected to apply from 2027, and the statutory guidance published in April 2026 means venues are preparing now. Smaller venues below 200 capacity are outside the Act.
Does a small cafe really need a HACCP plan?
Yes. Article 5 of retained Regulation (EC) 852/2004 applies to every registered food business, although the depth of the system scales with the size and nature of the operation.
For a small cafe that usually means a proportionate written system covering hazards, critical control points, cleaning and temperature monitoring, kept up to date and available when the environmental health officer calls.
