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Legionella Responsible Person Training
A CPD-certified online course for the person appointed to manage legionella risk — landlords, facilities and property managers, and dutyholders in care, hospitality, leisure and education. Understand your legal duties under ACOP L8 and HSG274, how to commission and act on a risk assessment, and how to run a written scheme of control. Fully online, at your own pace.
About this course
The competence the law expects of your Responsible Person
Anyone in control of premises — an employer, landlord, or person in control of a workplace — has a legal duty to manage the risk of exposure to legionella bacteria in their water systems. The Health and Safety Executive’s Approved Code of Practice L8 and the supporting guidance HSG274 set out how: identify and assess the risk, prevent or control it with a written scheme, monitor that scheme, and keep records. In practice, that duty is delegated to an appointed, competent Responsible Person — and the law expects that person to have the knowledge and authority to carry the role out.
This course gives your Responsible Person exactly that grounding. It explains where legionella comes from and why it thrives in poorly managed water systems, what L8 and HSG274 actually require, how to commission and interpret a legionella risk assessment, and how to build and manage a written scheme of control — temperature monitoring, flushing of little-used outlets, tank and calorifier checks, TMV servicing and cleaning regimes. It also covers record-keeping, monitoring, and how to appoint and oversee competent contractors so you know what “good” looks like.
Fully online and self-paced, the course takes around two to three hours and is accessed for twelve months from enrolment. On passing the end-of-course assessment, a CPD-certified digital certificate is issued instantly — dated, named evidence that your appointed person is trained for the role. Volume licensing is available for organisations training a team across multiple sites.
What you’ll learn
Learning outcomes
By the end of this course you will be able to:
Explain what legionella is, how Legionnaires’ disease is contracted and who is most at risk.
Describe the legal framework — HSWA, COSHH, MHSWR — and the status of ACOP L8 and HSG274.
Understand the roles of the dutyholder, the Responsible Person and their deputy.
Identify the conditions in a water system that allow legionella to grow.
Commission, interpret and act on a legionella risk assessment and system schematic.
Build and run a written scheme of control with the right control measures.
Keep the monitoring records and logbook that demonstrate ongoing compliance.
Appoint and oversee competent contractors, and know when specialist help is needed.
Course content
Six modules — 2 to 3 hours of learning
Each module ends with a knowledge check. Work through the modules in any order and return to the content at any time during your twelve-month access window.
1Legionella and Legionnaires’ DiseaseWhat the bacteria is, how the illness is contracted and who is most vulnerable.⌄
- What legionella bacteria are and where they occur naturally
- Legionnaires’ disease, Pontiac fever and how infection happens
- The role of aerosols and inhalation of contaminated water droplets
- Who is most at risk — age, health and susceptibility factors
- Why outbreaks are almost always preventable
2The Law and Your ResponsibilitiesHSWA, COSHH and MHSWR, and the status of ACOP L8 and HSG274.⌄
- Duties under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974
- COSHH 2002 and the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999
- What Approved Code of Practice L8 means — and its legal weight
- HSG274 Parts 1–3: hot and cold water, cooling systems and other risk systems
- Enforcement, prosecutions and the cost of getting it wrong
3The Dutyholder and the Responsible PersonWho does what — appointment, competence, authority and deputising.⌄
- The dutyholder’s legal position and what can be delegated
- Appointing a Responsible Person with the right competence and authority
- The role of a deputy and continuity when people are away
- Working with a Legionella / Water Safety Group where one exists
- Communication lines and sign-off
4Risk Assessment and Where Legionella GrowsThe conditions that let legionella multiply, and how the risk assessment captures them.⌄
- Risk factors: temperature 20–45°C, stagnation, biofilm, scale and sediment
- Higher-risk assets: tanks, calorifiers, showers, spa pools and cooling towers
- Commissioning a suitable and sufficient risk assessment
- Reading system schematics and building an asset register
- Prioritising and acting on the assessment’s findings
5The Written Scheme of ControlTurning the risk assessment into the day-to-day controls that keep water safe.⌄
- What a written scheme of control must contain
- Temperature regimes — keeping hot water hot and cold water cold
- Flushing little-used outlets and managing dead legs
- Cleaning and disinfection of tanks, showerheads and TMVs
- Specialist controls for cooling towers and spa pools
6Monitoring, Records and Managing ContractorsProving control over time — logbooks, monitoring and overseeing specialists.⌄
- Building a monitoring regime and reading the results
- The legionella logbook and records that demonstrate compliance
- Judging contractor competence and scope of work
- Sampling, escalation and responding to out-of-spec results
- Reviewing the scheme when the building or its use changes
Is this course right for you?
Who should take this course?
This course is written for the person who will hold the Responsible Person role — and for the dutyholders who appoint and oversee them. It suits any organisation with water systems to manage.
Landlords & letting agents
Residential and commercial landlords responsible for water systems in let property.
Facilities & property managers
FM teams and building managers running planned preventative maintenance.
Care & healthcare
Care homes, dental and healthcare settings with vulnerable service users.
Hotels, leisure & spas
Venues with showers, spa pools and cooling systems — higher-risk assets.
Schools & public buildings
Estates and premises staff managing large, variably-occupied water systems.
Responsible Persons & deputies
Anyone newly appointed to the role, or refreshing their knowledge for it.
How you’ll be assessed
Assessment
The course is assessed by a single online multiple-choice test taken at the end of the modules. It can be retaken as many times as you need at no extra cost.
End-of-course assessment
Study details
You can pause and resume at any point — your progress is saved automatically. There is no time limit on the assessment itself.
Your certificate
CPD-certified digital certificate
Legionella Responsible Person — CPD Certified
On passing the assessment, your CPD-certified digital certificate is available to download and print immediately, with your name, the course title and completion date. It provides dated, named evidence that your appointed Responsible Person has been trained for the role — the kind of record the HSE, auditors and insurers expect to see supporting your legionella management arrangements. We recommend refresher training at least every two years, and whenever your systems or responsibilities change.
Common questions
Frequently asked questions
Does this course make me a competent Responsible Person?⌄
What’s the difference between this and a legionella awareness course?⌄
Do I still need a risk assessment and contractors?⌄
How long does it take and how long do I have access?⌄
Can I buy this for my whole team?⌄
Ready to enrol?
Start your CPD-certified Legionella Responsible Person training today. Fully online, self-paced, with your certificate issued instantly on completion.
