I have a small flight of steps with four risers leading from the roof into the escape staircase back into a commercial building with no handrail.

Handrails have been shown to mitigate the hazard of falling whilst on the stairs, and would be seen in industry best practice / guidance.

However, ADK states a “lower standard of provision may be acceptable where access is required only for maintenance, because greater care can be expected from the people requiring to gain access.

 Would welcome your views as to whether I recommend a single handrail as best practice or accept a lower standard of provision,  as the access is required only for maintenance of the roof plant rooms?

Under Regulation 12(5) of the Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations, suitable and sufficient handrails (and, where appropriate, guards) must be provided on all traffic routes that include staircases—except where installing a handrail would obstruct the traffic route.

A staircase is defined as having three or more risers, and the Approved Code of Practice (ACoP) does not make exceptions for maintenance-related staircases.

Additionally, if the staircase forms part of an escape route to a protected staircase, reliance on users exercising caution ("care") is not a valid justification for omitting a handrail.

While Approved Document K (ADK) primarily applies to new buildings and is more relevant to public access areas than workplaces, it can still serve as a useful reference for risk assessment and for determining appropriate design standards when implementing safety improvements.

Given the regulatory requirements and the associated risks, the simplest and most effective solution would be to install a handrail.

Regards, 

Tony.

Originally Posted by: pastapickles

https://nhbc-standards.co.uk/6-superstructure-excluding-roofs/6-6-staircases/6-6-11-timber-staircases/

Intersting that a solicitor defending a workplace incident would permit reference to what is in effect a new build insurers standards relevant to home owners rather than work places.

Whilst insurers may wag a lot of health & safety they do not set regulation.

This is the same NHBC currently demanding exposure of their business is removed from agrement certificates which used to cite compliance to building regulation and NHBC standards.