Personal Emergency Evacuation Plans (PEEPs)

PEEPs Introduction

What is a PEEP?

A Personal Evacuation Plan (PEEP) is an essential health and safety requirement to consider for any business that employs people who work in buildings.

PEEPs are necessary to have in place for any staff members that require assistance when leaving a building in an emergency. Fire safety is an important component of any PEEP.

Why might a Personal Evacuation Plan be needed?

A PEEP helps individuals who may not be able to evacuate a building quickly or safely on their own during an emergency, like a fire. This includes people with:

• Mobility impairments (wheelchair users, walking aids)
• Sensory impairments (blind, deaf, etc.)
• Cognitive impairments (learning disabilities, dementia, etc.)
• Temporary impairments (e.g., injury, pregnancy)

Why is PEEP Fire Safety Important?

1. It Saves Lives: PEEPs training ensures vulnerable individuals know what to do and how to get help during emergencies.
2. There’s a legal requirement: In the UK, under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 and the Equality Act 2010, it's a legal duty to provide safe evacuation for everyone, not just able-bodied people.
3. Employers have a duty of care: as well as employers, landlords and building managers are also responsible for the safety of everyone on-site.
4. It leads to an improved Emergency Response: PEEPs make fire drills and real evacuations smoother by assigning helpers, identifying refuge areas, and clarifying routes.

Our PEEPs training course: outline and content

International Workplace offers a half-day PEEPs course, which can be delivered either online or in-person by one of our experienced trainers via one of the following learning types:

Virtual Classroom

• Create and manage PEEPs: with live, expert-led sessions on Microsoft Teams. After the sessions, you can dive into some handy eLearning content to help everything sink in.
• Tailored training: we’ll tailor the training to suit your company, and since it’s all online, your team can join from anywhere.
• Interactive and flexible: it’s interactive and packed with real-life examples from your industry to make sure it all clicks.
• Learn at your own pace: you can learn at your own pace, on any device, and get support from friendly, qualified trainers whenever you need it.

Face-to-Face (F2F) Classroom

• In-person learning: we’ll bring our trainers to your workplace or a location that works for you.
• Hands-on and practical: the sessions are hands-on, engaging, and full of practical examples that relate to what you do every day.
• Build team confidence: it’s a great way to build team confidence and make sure everyone knows exactly what to do in case of a fire or other emergency.
• Train together: your team can complete the personal evacuation training together in a familiar space, with expert trainers on hand to answer questions and guide you through.

During our PEEPs health and safety course you will cover the following modules:

1. What is a Personal Emergency Evacuation Plan (PEEP)? The first module looks at what a PEEP is, who might need one, and what a good plan sets out to do.
2. Legislation: next we look at the legislation involved, including the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, the Equality Act 2010 and the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety Order) 2005.
3. Who requires a PEEP? This module looks at the types of people who may require a PEEP, including those with cognitive, mobility, hearing and visual impairments, as well as those with an injury or condition that might create a need for assisted evacuation.
4. Residential buildings: next we explore how to implement a Personal Emergency Evacuation Plan in residential buildings, including care homes.
5. Putting a PEEP in place: we look at how to write a PEEP, and put it into practice.
6. Check and review: the final module looks at how often a PEEP should be checked and reviewed and under what circumstances.

FAQs

We've tried to cover as many frequently asked questions (FAQs) about our PEEPs fire safety training below. If you can't find what you're looking for, please contact us and we'll be more than happy to help!

Are Personal Emergency Evacuation Plans all about fire safety training?

Good question! PEEPs are most commonly used to make sure that individuals who may need extra help during an evacuation can get out safely in case of a fire.

But while PEEPs are mainly associated with fire safety, they can also apply to other emergency situations, such as:

• Bomb threats
• Chemical spills
• Power outages
• Any situation where a safe and quick evacuation is needed

So yes, fire safety is the core of PEEPs, but they’re also part of a bigger picture around inclusive emergency planning.

Do I receive a PEEPs certificate? Is there an assessment?

Yes, you do! Everyone who completes our PEEPS training (along with any of our other health and safety courses) will receive a certificate of attendance.

Once you’ve finished the course, our Learning Services team will send your certificate out to you. It will include:

• Your name
• Your company’s name
• The title of the course you attended
• The date of completion
• A signature from our Managing Director, David Sharp:

While there’s no formal assessment, your trainer will wrap up the session with a quick recap and knowledge check to help you review what you’ve learned.

Can I do my PEEPs training online?

Absolutely, flexibility is key. That’s why all of our health and safety training courses, including PEEPs, are available to complete online.

Our virtual classroom approach includes:

• Flexible Learning: learn from home (or anywhere) with a mix of self-paced eLearning and live, interactive sessions.
• Expert Support: our experienced trainers are with you every step of the way via Microsoft Teams. Got a question? Just ask—we’re here to help.
• Tailored to You: we customise the training to fit your organisation, using your actual policies, procedures, and documentation to make it truly relevant.

Why choose International Workplace?

Our UK-based PEEPs fire safety training is flexible and fits into busy schedules. This course offers videos, case studies, exercises and a digital workbook. It is ideal for managers across all sectors and provides knowledge on risk assessment, incident investigation and safety in the workplace.

We've built our courses with over 20 years of experience providing practical, step-by-step guidance. Find out more about why we are trusted by our customers to deliver health and safety training.

Ready to start PEEPs health and safety training?

Enquire now or contact our sales team on 0333 210 1995 or sales@internationalworkplace.com.

You can browse related health and safety courses we also offer, including:

• Fire safety awareness training
• Fire risk assessment
• Fire warden course
• RAMS training
• DSE assessors