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. Paper manufacture and converting are machinery-intensive — HSE's PABIAC (Paper and Board Industry Advisory Committee) targets in-running nips on reels/rollers, calenders and rewinders as the highest-risk operations. Devolved: Health and Safety at Work (Northern Ireland) Order 1978 in NI.
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 data protection fee payable unless exempt.
compliance
Great_Britain
Ongoing
Equality Act 2010 — protected characteristics
Enforced by:
EHRC
Equality Act 2010
Discrimination, harassment and victimisation prohibited across the protected characteristics — in employment and in services. Northern Ireland has its own equality regime (enforced by the ECNI).
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. Paper/board mills and warehouses carry a high fire loading (baled fibre, finished reels, dust) so the assessment is substantive. Devolved: Fire (Scotland) Act 2005; Fire and Rescue Services (Northern Ireland) Order 2006.
compliance
Great_Britain
Ongoing
Control of Substances Hazardous to Health (COSHH)
Enforced by:
HSE
Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002
Assess and control exposure to hazardous substances — pulping and bleaching chemicals, sizing agents, coatings, inks, adhesives and paper dust. Includes wood-dust and chlorine-dioxide controls at mills and solvent/adhesive controls in converting. NI: COSHH Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2003.
compliance
Great_Britain
Ongoing
Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations (PUWER)
Enforced by:
HSE
Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998
Work equipment must be suitable, maintained and safeguarded. Central to paper machines, reel handling, slitters, die-cutters, corrugators and guillotines — guarding of in-running nips and dangerous parts is the principal PUWER duty in this division.
compliance
Great_Britain
Ongoing
Manual Handling Operations Regulations 1992
Enforced by:
HSE
Manual Handling Operations Regulations 1992
Avoid or reduce the risk from manual handling — reams, bales, reels and finished cases are heavy and frequently handled in this division.
compliance
Uk
Ongoing
General product safety
Enforced by:
OPSS
General Product Safety Regulations 2005
Finished consumer paper products (stationery, tissue/sanitary goods, wallpaper, paper toys/novelties) must be safe. Producers must provide safety information and act on risks. Pulp (17.11) is a B2B intermediate rather than a consumer product, so the general-safety duty bites mainly on the converting classes and finished goods. Northern Ireland follows the EU General Product Safety Regulation (EU) 2023/988.
reporting
Uk
Annual
Extended producer responsibility for packaging (pEPR)
Enforced by:
ENVIRONMENT_AGENCY
Producer Responsibility Obligations (Packaging and Packaging Waste) Regulations 2024
Businesses that supply or import packaging (including paper/board packaging placed on the UK market) above the de-minimis thresholds (turnover over £1m and over 25 tonnes of packaging) must register, report packaging data and pay scheme fees under the reformed pEPR regime. Administered by the Environment Agency (with SEPA, NRW and NIEA in the devolved nations).