With an increase in local tourism in the wake of the Coronavirus pandemic, holiday lets, hotels and holiday parks are being reminded about the importance of hot tub and spa safety.

Hot tubs and Spa-pool systems are increasingly popular, but also require regular upkeep and safety tests to prevent germs like Legionella.

If you run a commercial or business activity (including a holiday let) that has a hot tub or spa, then you have a legal duty under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 to ensure that you have assessed the risk from Legionella and put in appropriate controls.

These settings should have a risk assessment in place, where the risks have been identified and control measure put in place. These control measures will include chemical treatment of the water, cleaning and water sampling.

As a minimum, hot tubs should have chemical checks daily, microbiological samples tested monthly and legionella samples tested every three months.

Anglesey Chief Public Protection Officer, Les Pursglove, said: “With an increase in local tourism as a result of the Coronavirus pandemic, we’re seeing much more use of hot tubs on the Island and want to prevent an incident, hence this advice now.”

“There is a general misunderstanding that the required checks on hot tubs can be made by visitors staying at the premises. However, this is not the case, as they are not competent to do so and legal duties cannot be discharged in this way.”

“The regulations relating to legionella apply to all businesses providing a hot tub or spa - even to single holiday let unit and the duty to comply rests with the business owner.”

The Health and Safety Executive have developed guidance: https://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/books/hsg282.htm produced in consultation with Public Health England, and local authority and industry representatives, which will help owners, managers and operators to assess and control the risk of exposure.