Martyn’s Law readiness for standard tier premises

The four public protection procedures written for you and adapted to your building, a responsible person recorded against every premises, a staff briefing your team can complete on a phone, and a readiness view that tells you exactly what is still outstanding.

A readiness pack, not legal advice. Included in Core at £59 per site per month.

Not in force yet, and that is the reason to start

The Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act 2025 received Royal Assent on 3 April 2025. It is not yet fully in force: the government’s published position is that the Act is expected to come into force in spring 2027, with the exact date confirmed nearer the time. That is an expectation, not a date you can rely on, and this page will say so until the government says otherwise.

What the duties actually ask for is documented procedures and staff who know them. Neither of those is a job you can do in the fortnight before commencement. A procedure written for a building you have not walked, and briefed to a team that has since turned over, is a document rather than a defence — and hospitality turns over faster than most.

Standard tier, in three duties

• Notify the Security Industry Authority, identifying the responsible person
• Have a responsible person for the premises
• Put public protection procedures in place, and make sure staff know them

The four procedure types are described in the Act by what they must achieve. The names used here — evacuation, invacuation, lockdown and communication — are the labels used in the Home Office statutory guidance rather than terms defined in the Act itself.

The threshold is per building, and it counts your staff

Tiers are read against the number of individuals a premises can reasonably expect to be present at the same time, from time to time, for a use listed in Schedule 1 to the Act — and that figure must include staff working there in connection with that use. One operator can run a small bistro that is out of scope and a function venue that is not.

Out of scope

Below the standard tier threshold on the capacity you record. Worth re-checking whenever the layout, licence or use of the premises changes.

Standard tier

What this pack is written for. Procedures and people rather than physical security equipment. Maximum penalty for standard duty premises: £10,000.

Enhanced tier

Additional duties this pack does not cover, and a maximum penalty of the greater of £18 million or 5% of qualifying worldwide revenue. Zynthio flags these sites so you can take your own advice.

Install it in one click, then make it yours

Five procedure documents, written for a hospitality venue

Evacuation, invacuation, lockdown and communication, plus a responsible person designation. They are written the way a duty manager reads them at speed: when to activate, the step-by-step actions, who does what, and a briefing note in plain words. Every venue-specific decision — exits, sweep areas, assembly point, the protected area away from glazing, who holds the keys — is a marked placeholder you replace. Each document carries a review-by date, lists the government sources it was written from, and states on its face that it is a template and not legal advice.

A readiness checklist, a quarterly drill and an annual review

The readiness checklist is the one-off pass: assess the capacity, confirm the tier, appoint the responsible person, adapt each procedure, assign the briefing, plan the notification. The quarterly drill record is the one that keeps it alive — run one of the four procedures with the team on shift, record how long it took, photograph the assembly point or the signed briefing sheet, name the manager signing it off, and write down what did not work. A drill with no findings usually means nobody was watching.

A staff briefing course with a five-question test

Four short modules: what the law is, the four procedures and how to tell which one you need, what you personally do when one is called, and how to raise a concern. It ends with a five-question test, and completions are recorded against the person, so “staff have been briefed” is a record rather than an assertion. Assign it to everyone on the rota, including part-time and casual staff.

A readiness view that measures evidence, not intent

One percentage and a list of what is outstanding, per organisation and per premises. A procedure counts once its placeholders are gone. A checklist counts once it has been completed — and the quarterly drill counts only if it was done in the last quarter. The briefing counts once everyone assigned has passed it. A site with no capacity recorded is reported as outstanding, never quietly treated as out of scope, because an unexamined estate should not read as a compliant one.

This is a readiness pack, not legal advice. Everything installs as ordinary documents, checklists and courses inside your account, which you can edit, rename or delete like anything you wrote yourself. Adapting the procedures to your own premises, and taking your own advice where you need it, remains your responsibility. Enhanced tier premises have additional duties this pack does not cover.

Martyn’s Law questions

When does Martyn’s Law actually come into force?

The Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act 2025 received Royal Assent on 3 April 2025, but it is not yet fully in force. The government’s published position is that the Act is expected to come into force in spring 2027, with the exact date confirmed nearer the time. Treat that as an expectation rather than a deadline you can diary, and check the government guidance for the current position. The reason to start now is not the date: the duties are about documented procedures and briefed staff, and both take longer to bed in than they do to write.

Is my venue in the standard tier?

Standard tier premises are qualifying premises that can reasonably expect 200 to 799 individuals to be present at the same time, from time to time, for a use listed in Schedule 1 to the Act. That figure must include staff working at the premises in connection with that use, which is the part most operators miss. Premises expecting 800 or more fall into the enhanced tier, which carries additional duties. Zynthio records a capacity against each of your sites and classifies each one, because the threshold is read against the individual building, not against your company.

What does the standard tier actually require?

Three things. Notify the Security Industry Authority, which regulates the Act, identifying the responsible person. Have a responsible person for the premises. And put in place public protection procedures covering the four procedure types that Home Office guidance calls evacuation, invacuation, lockdown and communication, with staff who know them. Standard tier is about procedures and people rather than physical security equipment, which is why a readiness pack of documents, a checklist and a short course covers most of the ground.

What are the penalties?

For standard duty premises the maximum penalty is £10,000. For enhanced duty premises and qualifying events it is the greater of £18 million or 5% of qualifying worldwide revenue. There are also daily penalties for breaching a compliance or restriction notice. Those figures are one reason this pack states clearly which tier it is written for: it covers the standard tier, and it flags any of your sites that fall into the enhanced tier so you can take your own advice on them.

Is this legal advice?

No. It is a readiness pack: pre-written procedure templates you adapt to your own building, a checklist to work through, a short staff briefing course, and a readiness view that tells you what is still outstanding. Every document says on its face that it is a template and not legal advice, carries a review-by date, and lists the government sources it was written from so you can check them. You remain responsible for making sure your procedures suit your premises.

What does the readiness percentage measure?

Evidence, not installation. A procedure document only counts once you have replaced its placeholders with your own building’s detail. The readiness checklist only counts once it has actually been completed. The staff briefing only counts once everyone assigned has finished it. Capacity only counts once somebody has assessed it, and a site with no capacity recorded is reported as outstanding rather than quietly treated as out of scope. Installing the pack on its own scores zero, which is the honest answer.

Written from the Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act 2025 and the Home Office statutory guidance published on gov.uk. Every document the pack installs links its own sources so you can check them.

Related guides

Practical guides from the Zynthio team on this part of running a venue.

Martyn's law compliance: what hospitality venues must do now

Martyn's law compliance brings counter-terrorism duties to many venues. Here is how the tiers work and how to use the implementation period.

More operator guides on the Zynthio blog. How we write them: editorial policy.

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