These requirements apply to all business activities in this division.
compliance
Great_Britain
Ongoing
Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 — general duties
Enforced by:
HSE
Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974
General duty to protect employees and others affected by the business. Textile mills carry significant H&S exposure — machinery guarding, noise, dust, and occupational asthma from fibre/dye exposure. Devolved: Health and Safety at Work (Northern Ireland) Order 1978.
insurance
Great_Britain
Annual
Employers' Liability Insurance
Enforced by:
HSE
Employers' Liability (Compulsory Insurance) Act 1969
Required for any business employing at least one person.
registration
Uk
Annual
UK GDPR + Data Protection Act 2018
Enforced by:
ICO
Data Protection Act 2018; UK GDPR (retained EU law)
Applies to any business processing personal data — staff, customers, suppliers. ICO registration (data protection fee) unless specifically exempt.
compliance
Great_Britain
Ongoing
Equality Act 2010 — protected characteristics
Enforced by:
EHRC
Equality Act 2010
Prohibits discrimination, harassment and victimisation in employment and in services. Northern Ireland has its own equality framework.
compliance
England_Wales
Ongoing
Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005
Enforced by:
LOCAL_FIRE_AUTHORITY
Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005
The 'responsible person' must carry out a fire risk assessment and maintain fire precautions. Textile premises carry elevated fire load (fibre, dust, oils). Devolved: Fire (Scotland) Act 2005; Fire and Rescue Services (NI) Order 2006.
compliance
Great_Britain
Ongoing
Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002 (COSHH)
Enforced by:
HSE
Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002 (COSHH)
Assess and control exposure to hazardous substances — dyes, bleaches, finishing chemicals, solvents, and cotton/flax dust (a recognised cause of byssinosis). Health surveillance where relevant. Devolved: COSHH Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2003.
compliance
Great_Britain
Ongoing
Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 (PUWER)
Enforced by:
HSE
Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998
Work equipment must be suitable, maintained and safely used, with guarding on dangerous parts. Central to textile manufacture given carding, spinning, weaving, knitting and finishing machinery.
compliance
Great_Britain
Ongoing
Manual Handling Operations Regulations 1992
Enforced by:
HSE
Manual Handling Operations Regulations 1992
Avoid or assess and reduce manual-handling risks — moving fibre bales, beams, fabric rolls and finished goods.
compliance
Uk
Ongoing
General Product Safety Regulations 2005
Enforced by:
OPSS
General Product Safety Regulations 2005
Consumer textile products placed on the market must be safe. The general safety duty is the baseline; specific product categories carry their own regimes (nightwear flammability, upholstered-furniture fire safety, PPE/technical textiles requiring UKCA marking — handled on the relevant leaf codes). Enforced by Trading Standards under OPSS oversight.
compliance
Uk
Ongoing
Textile fibre composition labelling
Enforced by:
TRADING_STANDARDS
The Textile Products (Labelling and Fibre Composition) Regulations 2012
Consumer textile products (at least 80% by weight of textile fibres) must be labelled or marked with their fibre composition using harmonised fibre names. These Regulations enforce the assimilated EU textile labelling Regulation (No 1007/2011). Largely relevant to consumer-facing textiles; purely industrial textiles and cordage/netting fall outside the consumer-product scope.
compliance
Great_Britain
Ongoing
UK REACH — restricted substances in dyes and finishes
Enforced by:
HSE
Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006 (REACH) — assimilated as UK REACH
UK REACH restricts hazardous substances in textiles and articles — e.g. certain azo dyes that release listed aromatic amines, and substances of very high concern in finishes. Manufacturers and downstream users must comply with restrictions and, where they place substances on the market, register or notify. Administered by HSE as the UK REACH Agency (Environment Agency on environmental matters); Northern Ireland remains under EU REACH.