Legionella Logbooks Explained: What Small Businesses Must Record

If your premises have hot and cold water, you have a duty to manage the risk of legionella. Here is what to check, what to write down and how long to keep it.

Legionella bacteria can grow in water systems and cause Legionnaires' disease, a potentially fatal pneumonia. The rules are not only for hospitals and big hotels. If your business has a water system, they apply to you. The good news is that for most small premises, the checks are simple. The hard part is doing them on time and writing them down.

Who needs to manage legionella

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) says that if you are an employer, or someone in control of premises such as a landlord, you have a duty to understand and manage legionella risks. Hot and cold water systems are among the most common sources. Spa pools are another.

In practice that includes:

• Hotels, guest houses and holiday lets – many outlets, showers and rooms that sit empty.
• Gyms, leisure centres and sports clubs – showers and changing rooms.
• Hair and beauty salons – basins, showers and any spa equipment.
• Pubs, restaurants and cafes – especially those with letting rooms, staff showers or rarely used toilets.
• Offices, shops, nurseries and care settings with hot and cold water.

The main guidance is HSE's Approved Code of Practice, L8, and the technical guidance HSG274. L8 is aimed at duty holders: employers, people in control of premises, and those with health and safety responsibilities for others.

The duty holder's four jobs

1. Assess the risk

HSE says carrying out a risk assessment is your responsibility. You can do it yourself if you are competent. If not, get help from someone with enough training, experience or knowledge. The assessment should consider who is more vulnerable, such as older people or those with weakened immune systems, and be reviewed regularly, especially if you suspect it is no longer valid.

2. Appoint someone to manage it

You must appoint someone competent to help you meet your duties. This is often called the responsible person. It can be you, a member of staff or an outside contractor. If several people share the role across shifts, each person's job must be clear. If you use a contractor, you are still responsible for making sure the work is done properly.

3. Control the risk

Legionella grows best in warm, stagnant water. Control usually means keeping hot water hot, cold water cold, and water moving.

4. Keep records

HSE says you must keep and maintain the correct records. More on this below.

The checks most small premises need

HSE's guidance on hot and cold water systems sets out the routine checks. Your risk assessment decides exactly which apply to you and how often.

Sentinel outlets are the taps nearest to and furthest from the water heater or tank. If they are in range, the rest of the system is likely to be too. Our legionella water temperature log has columns for each.

What your records should include

According to HSE's guidance on keeping records, records should include:

• The person or people responsible for the risk assessment and for managing and carrying out the control scheme.
• The significant findings of the risk assessment.
• The written control scheme and how it has been put in place.
• Whether the system is in use or not.
• The results and dates of any monitoring, inspections, tests or checks.

If you have five or more employees, you must record the significant findings of your risk assessment, including anyone particularly at risk and what you have done to control the risk. If you have fewer than five, you do not have to write it down, but HSE says it is useful to keep a written record of what you have done.

How long to keep records

• Results of monitoring, inspections, tests and checks: at least five years.
• Other records, such as the risk assessment and control scheme: for as long as they are current, and for at least two years after that.

Five years is a long time for a paper log to survive in a plant room. Digital records avoid faded pages and lost folders.

Legionella checklist

• A current legionella risk assessment, reviewed regularly.
• A named, competent responsible person, with clear cover for shifts and holidays.
• A written plan of which checks are done, where and how often.
• A list of sentinel outlets and little-used outlets.
• Monthly temperature readings, with action taken when a reading is out of range.
• Weekly flushing records for little-used outlets.
• Showerhead cleaning and tank inspection records.
• Contractor reports and certificates.
• Monitoring records kept for at least five years.

Making it routine

With LogBooks Hub, the person doing the check gets a reminder when it is due, records the temperature on the iOS or Android app or in a browser, and can attach a photo of the thermometer reading. Each entry is timestamped and named. Legionella sits alongside fire, food and cleaning records, across 90+ logbook types, and you can export an audit pack PDF when an inspector or insurer asks. Pricing starts from £30/month.

Running a hotel or guest house? See our page for hotels.