Guides / Protection
The risk side: insurance, licences, complaints, reviews, contractors, legal and lease considerations.
Working with contractors safely in hospitality comes down to three things every time: a current insurance certificate, a written risk assessment for the specific job, and a short site induction. Get those on file before anyone lifts a tool and most of the legal and insurance fallout goes away.
Read MoreA hospitality risk assessment is a written record that identifies hazards, who could be harmed, and what you have done to control the risk. UK businesses with five or more staff must put theirs in writing. Most cafés need around seven core assessments, reviewed annually and after any incident.
Read MoreA right to work check in UK hospitality means verifying every new hire's legal status before their first shift, using either a certified digital identity provider, a Home Office share code, or (rarely now) a manual document check. You must keep dated, signed records for the duration of employment plus two years.
Read MoreTreat online reviews as operational data, not marketing. Respond to everything within 48 hours, write like a human operator not a brand, and never argue facts you cannot prove. Escalate fake reviews and legal threats through proper channels, and trust review patterns when they tell you something has changed on the floor.
Read MoreA café lease in the UK is usually a Full Repairing and Insuring (FRI) agreement, which makes you responsible for the building's condition. The clauses that bite hardest are repairs, rent reviews, alienation, keep-open and dilapidations at exit. Negotiate hard at the start, because you cannot fix it later.
Read MoreHospitality business insurance is a stack of policies, not one product. Most operators need public liability, employers' liability, contents, business interruption, and product liability as a minimum. Your paper trail (risk assessments, PAT tests, training records) is what keeps the cover live when you actually need to claim.
Read MoreTreat customer complaints in hospitality as three tiers: in-the-moment fixes, next-day manager callbacks, and serious incidents like suspected food poisoning or allergic reactions. Each needs a different response and a different paper trail. The serious ones can pull in your insurer, the FSA and the council, so the documentation you build on the night is what saves you weeks later.
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