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 work. Remediation is high-hazard (contaminated ground, confined spaces, hazardous substances), so the COSHH 2002, Confined Spaces Regulations 1997 and PPE duties bite heavily. 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, clients, subcontractors). ICO data protection fee 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 service provision. NI: separate equality law (s75 Northern Ireland Act 1998 and ECNI-enforced order).
compliance
England_Wales
Ongoing
Waste duty of care
Enforced by:
ENVIRONMENT_AGENCY
Environmental Protection Act 1990; Waste (England and Wales) Regulations 2011
Anyone who imports, produces, carries, keeps, treats or disposes of controlled waste owes a duty of care under EPA 1990 s34: store it safely, transfer only to an authorised person, and complete a waste transfer note (kept for 2 years; hazardous-waste consignment notes for 3 years). Remediation always generates controlled waste (arisings, spoil, contaminated material), so this applies to every activity. Devolved: enforced by NRW in Wales; in Scotland the duty sits in EPA 1990 s34 as applied with the Waste Management Licensing (Scotland) Regulations 2011 (SEPA); NI under the Waste and Contaminated Land (Northern Ireland) Order 1997 (NIEA).
permit
England_Wales
Per_Project
Environmental permit for waste operations / mobile plant
Enforced by:
ENVIRONMENT_AGENCY
Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2016; Environmental Protection Act 1990
A bespoke or standard-rules environmental permit (or registered exemption) is required where remediation involves a regulated waste operation — treating, depositing or recovering waste on site, or operating mobile treatment plant (e.g. soil washing, bioremediation, ex-situ treatment). Many in-situ remediation jobs run under a mobile-plant deployment or a low-risk waste exemption (e.g. U1, T-codes) registered with the regulator. Devolved: NRW issues permits in Wales under the same 2016 Regulations; SEPA licenses under the Waste Management Licensing (Scotland) Regulations 2011 / Pollution Prevention and Control (Scotland) Regulations 2012; NIEA under the Waste and Contaminated Land (Northern Ireland) Order 1997.
registration
England_Wales
Triennial
Waste carrier, broker and dealer registration
Enforced by:
ENVIRONMENT_AGENCY
Control of Pollution (Amendment) Act 1989; Waste (England and Wales) Regulations 2011
A business that transports its own or others' contaminated arisings/waste, or arranges (brokers/deals) its disposal, must register as a waste carrier, broker or dealer. Remediation contractors carrying others' waste are upper tier (chargeable, 3-yearly renewal). Devolved registers: NRW (Wales), SEPA (Scotland, under the Waste Management Licensing (Scotland) Regulations 2011), NIEA (Northern Ireland).
notification
England_Wales
Per_Event
Hazardous waste handling and consignment
Enforced by:
ENVIRONMENT_AGENCY
Hazardous Waste (England and Wales) Regulations 2005
Contaminated soil, sludge, solvents and asbestos waste are frequently hazardous. Movements must travel under a consignment note, records kept for 3 years, and the receiving site must be suitably permitted. England no longer requires premises notification (abolished 2016); Wales still operates premises notification under the 2005 Regulations. Devolved: Special Waste Regulations 1996 (Scotland, SEPA); Hazardous Waste Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2005 (NIEA).
compliance
England_Wales
Per_Project
Contaminated land regime (EPA 1990 Part 2A)
Enforced by:
LOCAL_AUTHORITY
Environmental Protection Act 1990
Land determined as 'contaminated land' is regulated under EPA 1990 Part 2A: the local authority identifies and may serve a remediation notice, with 'special sites' (e.g. major contamination, water-pollution risk) regulated by the Environment Agency. Remediation businesses act as the 'appropriate person' or their contractor and must deliver works to the standard set by statutory guidance. Devolved: same Part 2A framework applied by NRW/Welsh authorities, SEPA (Scotland), and the Waste and Contaminated Land (Northern Ireland) Order 1997 (not yet fully commenced in NI).
compliance
Great_Britain
Per_Project
Control of asbestos during remediation
Enforced by:
HSE
Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012
Demolition/decontamination and ground remediation routinely disturb asbestos. Licensable asbestos work requires an HSE licence; non-licensed and notifiable non-licensed work (NNLW) must still be notified, with trained operatives, RPE/PPE, air monitoring and licensed-tip disposal of asbestos waste. NI: Control of Asbestos Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2012 (HSENI).
compliance
Great_Britain
Per_Project
Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015
Enforced by:
HSE
Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015
Ground remediation and decontamination are construction work, so CDM 2015 dutyholder roles (client, principal designer, principal contractor) apply on projects with more than one contractor, including the F10 notification to HSE for larger/longer projects. NI: Construction (Design and Management) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2016.