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 ensure the health, safety and welfare of employees and others affected by the work. Electronics manufacture engages soldering fumes, chemical etching, machinery and assembly-line 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
Compulsory 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 specifically exempt.
compliance
Great_Britain
Ongoing
Equality Act 2010 — protected characteristics
Enforced by:
EHRC
Equality Act 2010
Discrimination, harassment and victimisation prohibited across 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-safety arrangements. Solvents, batteries and combustible materials on an electronics line raise the assessment demands. Devolved: Fire (Scotland) Act 2005 and Fire Safety (Scotland) Regulations 2006; Fire and Rescue Services (NI) 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, prevent or control exposure to hazardous substances and provide health surveillance where required. Central to electronics manufacture — solder fume, fluxes, cleaning solvents and the acids/etchants used in printed-circuit-board and semiconductor processing. NI: Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2003.
compliance
Great_Britain
Ongoing
Provision and Use of Work Equipment (PUWER)
Enforced by:
HSE
Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998
Work equipment — pick-and-place machines, reflow ovens, wave-solder lines, presses and test rigs — must be suitable, maintained, inspected and safe to use.
compliance
Great_Britain
Ongoing
Manual Handling Operations Regulations 1992
Enforced by:
HSE
Manual Handling Operations Regulations 1992
Avoid hazardous manual handling so far as reasonably practicable, then assess and reduce the risk of injury — and manage the repetitive small-component handling typical of electronics assembly. NI: Manual Handling Operations Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1992.
compliance
Great_Britain
Ongoing
General product safety and UKCA conformity
Enforced by:
OPSS
General Product Safety Regulations 2005; Electrical Equipment (Safety) Regulations 2016
Electrical and electronic products placed on the GB market must be safe and meet the applicable conformity-assessment regime, carrying the UKCA (or, where still accepted, CE) marking with a declaration of conformity and technical documentation. Mains-powered equipment is covered by the Electrical Equipment (Safety) Regulations 2016 (low-voltage directive); the General Product Safety Regulations 2005 provide the residual safety baseline. Market surveillance by the Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS) with local Trading Standards. NI continues to apply the EU product rules / CE marking under the Windsor Framework.
compliance
Uk
Ongoing
Restriction of hazardous substances in EEE (RoHS)
Enforced by:
OPSS
Restriction of the Use of Certain Hazardous Substances in Electrical and Electronic Equipment Regulations 2012
Electrical and electronic equipment placed on the market must not contain restricted hazardous substances (lead, mercury, cadmium, hexavalent chromium, certain flame retardants and phthalates) above the permitted maximum concentrations, unless an exemption applies. The manufacturer must draw up technical documentation, carry out conformity assessment, and apply the UKCA/CE marking. Enforced by OPSS as the GB market-surveillance authority. NI continues to apply the EU RoHS Directive under the Windsor Framework.
registration
Uk
Annual
Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) producer responsibility
Enforced by:
ENVIRONMENT_AGENCY
Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Regulations 2013
Producers placing EEE on the UK market must register with an approved producer compliance scheme (or directly with the environmental regulator), report the tonnage placed on the market, finance the collection, treatment and recycling of WEEE, and mark products with the crossed-out wheeled-bin symbol. Administered by the Environment Agency in England, SEPA in Scotland, NRW in Wales and NIEA in Northern Ireland. (Reformed by the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (Amendment, etc.) Regulations 2025, uksi/2025/910.)
compliance
Uk
Ongoing
Electromagnetic Compatibility Regulations 2016
Enforced by:
OPSS
Electromagnetic Compatibility Regulations 2016
Electrical and electronic apparatus must be designed and made so that it does not generate electromagnetic disturbance beyond permitted levels and is itself immune to expected interference. The manufacturer must carry out an EMC conformity assessment, draw up technical documentation and a declaration of conformity, and apply the UKCA/CE marking. Market surveillance by OPSS. NI continues to apply the EU EMC Directive under the Windsor Framework.