Key Holding - SIA Approved Key Holding Services
Key Holding. Some business owners think it’s OK to leave the keys with the manager, or a trusted employee rather than using a keyholder. It isn’t.
You must not put your employee in danger
As a business, you owe your employee a duty of care. You must not put them in danger. If they are called as the keyholder, in circumstances where there has been a break-in, you must not allow them to enter a potentially dangerous situation. This is particularly the case if they have no training, or are in any way vulnerable, such as someone who is older, or small in stature.
If the keyholder you have informally appointed is injured, you could find yourself facing an expensive lawsuit. Professional keyholders send trained and experienced staff to deal with possible security breaches and intruders.
Your keyholding employee is not available 24/7?
So you have a break-in on Christmas Day. Is your keyholder going to be able to drive to your premises, or will they have been on the Prosecco by then? Remember, there won’t be any public transport. And if the emergency is at night, how do you know they won’t sleep through the phone call? Or that they won’t have the answerphone on? Let’s face it, most businesses using employee keyholders are unlikely to have tested their 3 AM responses. And are you really going to arrange cover every time they go out for the day, or stay overnight at a party? Of course, the keyholder themselves may have a family emergency and be unavailable.
Your employee probably doesn’t know how the building systems work
It’s not unusual for the employee designated as keyholder, to be unable to unlock the door with the key. And they may be unable to find the alarm panel, never mind disarming it, and resetting it with another pass number. A professional security company will operate their keyholding service in accordance with the police guidelines. What’s more, they will have seen every possible circumstance before, and will be able to deal with an emergency quickly, safely and efficiently, reporting to you when necessary.
