Helping you identify your regulatory needs as a business

Helping you identify your regulatory needs as a business

Guidance for you to identify and assess your regulatory needs.

This guide is intended to assist start-ups or new businesses identify which areas of consumer law may apply to their business.

In many cases we hope that this will be sufficient to enable businesses to start trading legally without further guidance.

Where additional guidance is required a fixed fee guidance and advice package is available. Please contact us for further details.  

Additional guidance will only be provided once the full Regulatory Needs Assessment check list (Word) is completed.  After reading the guidance, please identify which areas of law require clarification. This will help us focus our guidance and maximise the best use of the 5 hours available.

This guidance

These links are being provided for informational purposes only; they do not constitute an endorsement or an approval by The Council of any of the products, services or opinions of the corporation or organisation or individual expressed therein.

The Council bears no responsibility for the accuracy, legality, or content of the external site or for that of subsequent links. Contact the external site for answers to questions regarding its content.

This information or our document is not designed to be a replacement for professional advice and is intended only for guidance. Only the courts can give an authoritative interpretation of the law.

Guidance for regulatory needs

1. Forming your business

Do you intend to trade as a limited company, sole trader, or partnership?

2. Where do you intend to trade from? Do you need planning permission?

3. Do you need to register or require a licence?

Read the quick guides first. Only read the in-depth guidance if you are sure it applies to your business.

Business area Guidance
a. Food
b. Disposal of food waste
c. Selling alcohol
d. Dog breeding establishments
e. Boarding for cats and dogs
f. Pet shops
g. Consumer credit
h. Storage of explosives or firework
i. Petroleum storage
j. Street Traders Licence

4. Employers’ liability

5. Growing, selling, preparing, manufacturing, or importing food

If you propose to grow, sell, prepare, manufacture, or import food, are you aware of the rules relating to food labelling and hygiene?

6. Animal feeding

If you propose to sell, prepare, manufacture, or import animal feeding stuffs, are you aware of the rules relating labelling and hygiene?

7. Fertilisers

If you propose to sell, manufacture, or import fertilisers?

8. Understanding legislative areas

The following legislative areas may affect your business depending on what you manufacture, import, sell or the service you provide.

Read the quick guides first. Only read the in-depth guidance if you are sure it applies to your business.

Business area Guidance
a. Product safety
b. Describing goods and services
c. Pricing and offers
d. Selling goods via the internet or mail order (Distance selling)
e. Weights and Measures
f. Trademarks and counterfeiting
g. Design and Copyright
h. Unfair Trading

i. Age restricted products

  • i.  Alcohol
  • ii. Tobacco products
  • iii. Fireworks
  • iv. Solvents 
  • v. Knives
  • vi. Video games
  • vii. Corrosive substances
  • viii. Botox
  • ix. Sun beds

Note: This is not an exhaustive list of age restricted products or services.  

9. Protecting your intellectual property

10. Home Improvement Services (builders, roofers, gas and electrical work) 

Read the guides above first. Only read the in-depth guidance if you are sure it applies to your business.

If your business is in home improvements, you should be aware of the following:

Business area Guidance
a.    Consumer Contracts off trade premises
b.    Supply of services
c.    Sale and supply of goods and services
d.    Membership logos and claims
e.    Unfair trading
f.    Gas installations
g.    Electrical installations
h.    Bio mass and solid fuel appliances
i.    Liquid fuel heating storage, appliance, and supply

 

11. Websites

It is important that your online business is compliant, this means ensuring your website is compliant with the relevant regulations. There are specific requirements laid down in several regulations that will be relevant to your online business.

12. Where else can I get help?

a. There is a huge amount of help available to businesses.

b. Trade and business associations will keep you up to date in developments in your profession or trade.

c. If you trade or operate across local authority boundaries joining Trading Standards in a Primary Authority Partnership may be of benefit to your business.

d. If you work in the home improvement sector you could consider joining our local approved trader scheme

Contact us

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