Professional & Financial Services UK-wide

Which management consultancy regulations apply to your business

Head offices, management consultancies and business advisory firms carry the same workplace-safety and employment duties as any office employer. On top of that, if you market your services by email, text or automated calls, the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations 2003 (PECR) apply.

Guide summary

You must protect your staff from office risks like screen work and stress under health and safety law. If you market by email, text or automated calls, you must follow the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations (PECR). If you form companies or provide registered office services, register with HMRC for anti-money laundering supervision before you start.

  • Protect staff from display-screen, workstation and stress risks
  • Follow the guide ‘Set up and run a safe management consultancy’
  • Complete the management consultancy compliance checklist
  • Get consent before marketing by email, text or automated calls
  • Register as a trust or company service provider with HMRC if you form companies or provide registered offices
  • Register before you start trading – or face penalties
  • HSE enforces health and safety in Great Britain; HSENI in Northern Ireland
  • ICO enforces PECR UK-wide
On this page

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Management consultancies and head offices are office-based businesses with relatively low physical risk. The core workplace duties under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 still apply — you must protect your people from the risks that office work brings, including display-screen equipment, workstation assessment, stress and mental health. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) regulates in Great Britain and HSENI in Northern Ireland.

Where your business markets its services by email, text message or automated telephone calls, the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations 2003 (PECR) add specific consent and screening duties, enforced by the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) UK-wide.

What you need to do

  1. 1

    Set up a safe consultancy and meet your employer duties

    Start with the universal spine. Follow "Set up and run a safe management consultancy" for your health and safety, fire safety, employers' liability insurance, equality, data protection and PECR electronic-marketing duties.

  2. 2

    Confirm you have covered everything

    Finish with the "Management consultancy: compliance checklist" to confirm your obligations are met.

If you form companies or provide registered-office services

Management consultancy is not itself supervised for money laundering. But if you provide trust or company service provider (TCSP) activities — forming companies, or providing a registered office, business address, nominee director, secretary or shareholder, or trustee services — you must register with HMRC for anti-money-laundering supervision (unless you are already supervised by another body) before you start trading. See GOV.UK: money laundering supervision for trust or company service providers.

Official sources

Authoritative starting points for management consultancies.