Gas Safety · Practical guide
Who must report a suspected gas escape at work?
Who the gas management rules make responsible for shutting off and reporting a suspected escape, and where to find immediate safety advice.
The short answer
What you need to know
Under the Gas Safety (Management) Regulations, the “responsible person” for premises supplied from a gas network must take all reasonable steps to shut off the supply if they know or suspect gas is escaping from a fitting. If gas continues to escape or the smell persists, that person must immediately notify the network’s emergency reporting service. The responsible person is usually the occupier; if absent, it may be the owner or someone authorised to act. If you suspect a natural-gas leak now, HSE says to call 0800 111 999 immediately.
The detail
Understanding the requirements
Who is the responsible person?
L80 explains a specific duty under regulation 7 for premises supplied with gas from a network. The duty concerns the “responsible person” for the premises, rather than naming every employee who might notice a smell. HSE’s guidance says this is normally the occupier. Where there is no occupier, or the occupier is away, it may be the owner or another person with authority to take appropriate action on the gas fitting, such as a landlord or managing agent.
For a workplace, that makes it important to know who has authority to act and where the emergency control is. The legal definition does not mean a worker should delay raising the alarm while trying to establish who holds that role. HSE’s separate employer guidance gives immediate advice for a suspected leak, including the emergency contact for natural gas.
What does L80 require?
If the responsible person knows or has reason to suspect gas is escaping from a fitting in the premises, regulation 7(7) requires them immediately to take all reasonable steps to cause the supply to be shut off where necessary to prevent further escape. L80’s guidance refers to closing the emergency control valve or an additional emergency control valve. The precise action depends on the premises and the situation; the regulation uses “reasonable steps” rather than requiring someone to put themselves in danger.
Regulation 7(8) then says that, if gas continues to escape after the supply is shut off or a smell of gas persists, the responsible person who discovers it must immediately notify the emergency reporting service provider for the network. L80 notes a narrow exception if the responsible person is itself that service provider. The rule about a persisting smell describes this particular legal duty; it is not advice to wait before calling for help.
How is an escape reported?
Regulation 7 requires an emergency reporting service provider to operate a continuously manned telephone service for reports of gas escaping from a network or a fitting it supplies. L80 describes a single number contactable across Great Britain and gives 0800 111 999 as the national gas emergency number. HSE’s current employer page says that anyone suspecting a natural-gas leak should turn off the supply and immediately call that number. For liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), it says to contact the LPG supplier instead. If in doubt, HSE advises evacuating and informing the police as well as the relevant gas service or supplier.
This Guide explains the L80 reporting chain for network-supplied gas. It is not a complete emergency procedure for every site or fuel. Employers should use current HSE guidance and their site emergency arrangements, and should not turn a supply back on until the leak has been dealt with by a competent person.
Trace the answer
What the official guidance says
Source notes below are Falstaff summaries. Text in quotation marks is a short excerpt from the linked official source.
Health and Safety Executive · Regulation 7(17) · guidance paragraph 131 · Falstaff chunk c517bf32
A guide to the Gas Safety (Management) Regulations 1996 (as amended) (L80)
Falstaff source note: Defines the responsible person as the occupier, or in their absence the owner or another person authorised to act.
HSE L80, third edition (2024). Falstaff holds passages from this document.
Health and Safety Executive · Regulation 7(7) · Falstaff chunk 53217bc2
A guide to the Gas Safety (Management) Regulations 1996 (as amended) (L80)
“immediately take all reasonable steps to cause the supply of gas to be shut off”
Falstaff source note: Requires immediate reasonable steps to cause the gas supply to be shut off when a fitting is known or suspected to be leaking.
HSE L80, third edition (2024). Falstaff holds passages from this document.
Health and Safety Executive · Regulation 7(8) and (8A) · Falstaff chunk 752846d7
A guide to the Gas Safety (Management) Regulations 1996 (as amended) (L80)
Falstaff source note: Sets the immediate notification duty when the escape or smell persists, and states the limited service-provider exception.
HSE L80, third edition (2024). Falstaff holds passages from this document.
Health and Safety Executive · Regulation 7(1) · guidance paragraph 81 · Falstaff chunks 5a3faa1c, 9a0a3f95
A guide to the Gas Safety (Management) Regulations 1996 (as amended) (L80)
Falstaff source note: Explains the continuously manned reporting service and the single national phone number.
HSE L80, third edition (2024). Falstaff holds passages from this document.
Health and Safety Executive · Guidance paragraph 103 · Falstaff chunk e363de49
A guide to the Gas Safety (Management) Regulations 1996 (as amended) (L80)
Falstaff source note: Explains HSE’s guidance on closing an emergency control and notifying the service if the smell persists.
HSE L80, third edition (2024). Falstaff holds passages from this document.
Health and Safety Executive · Gas leaks
Gas safety for employers
Falstaff source note: Separate, current HSE advice for employers: call immediately for a suspected natural-gas leak, contact the LPG supplier for LPG, and do not turn the supply back on until dealt with by a competent person.
Live HSE web guidance. This page is an external cross-check and is not stored as a Falstaff document.
Practical considerations
These examples help frame a site-specific assessment. Check the current official sources before making a compliance decision.
- If you suspect a natural-gas leak, use HSE’s immediate advice: call the National Gas Emergency Service on 0800 111 999. For LPG, contact your supplier.
- Identify who can act for the premises and where the emergency control is before an incident occurs.
- If the smell persists after shutoff, the responsible person must notify the network’s emergency reporting service immediately under regulation 7(8).
- Do not treat the regulation 7(8) trigger as a reason to delay an emergency call. Follow your site arrangements and HSE’s current safety guidance.