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. Manufacturing premises carry machinery, fume, dust and material-handling risks. NI: 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 unless specifically exempt.
compliance
Great_Britain
Ongoing
Equality Act 2010 — protected characteristics
Enforced by:
EHRC
Equality Act 2010
No discrimination, harassment or victimisation across the nine protected characteristics in employment and services. NI: separate equality legislation enforced by the Equality Commission for Northern Ireland.
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. Rubber and plastics processing carries elevated fire load (polymers, solvents, dust). 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 used division-wide — polymer resins, curing agents, plasticisers, solvents, isocyanates, rubber fume and process dust. NI: Control of Substances Hazardous to Health 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 (extruders, moulding and calendering machines, mills, presses) must be suitable, maintained, and adequately guarded, with operators trained. Read with the Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998 (LOLER) where lifting plant is used.
compliance
Great_Britain
Ongoing
Manual Handling Operations Regulations
Enforced by:
HSE
Manual Handling Operations Regulations 1992
Avoid, assess and reduce manual handling risks from moving raw materials, moulds, reels and finished product. NI: Manual Handling Operations Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1992.
registration
Uk
Ongoing
UK REACH — registration and restriction of chemical substances
Enforced by:
HSE
UK REACH Regulation (retained EU law)
Manufacturers of rubber and plastic products use substances and mixtures (monomers, plasticisers, stabilisers, colourants) subject to UK REACH registration, authorisation and Annex 17 restrictions — including phthalate plasticisers, certain SVHCs and CMR substances. Duty to comply with restrictions and to communicate SVHC information down the supply chain. Enforced by HSE with the Environment Agency / SEPA / NRW; NI follows EU REACH under the Windsor Framework.
compliance
Uk
Ongoing
General product safety + UKCA conformity
Enforced by:
OPSS
General Product Safety Regulations 2005
Products placed on the GB market must be safe. The General Product Safety Regulations 2005 are the residual safety duty where no specific product regime applies; products within scope of a specific regime (e.g. toys, electrical, construction products, food-contact articles) must carry UKCA marking and meet that regime's essential requirements. Enforced by OPSS / local Trading Standards. Northern Ireland market access follows the GPSR (EU 2023/988) and CE marking under the Windsor Framework.