What Are Product Safety Laws in England and Wales?

If you are selling products to consumers as part of your business, you will want to familiarise yourself with product safety laws. As a seller, you may be under certain obligations to ensure that your products are both safe and appropriate for use. Unsafe products will have commercial and legal implications for your business. For example, unsafe products may affect your business’ reputation and your brand’s image. Depending on how unsafe the product is, you may also be legally liable to compensate your consumers. 

This article will explain some of the key obligations you should know about concerning product safety laws. This will give you a base level of understanding, so you know what to look for when assessing the safety of your products.

The Law on Product Safety

Products that you sell must meet ‘product safety regulations’. Regulations set out safety requirements to minimise the risk of injury from dangerous products. While there used to be directives and rules from the European Union (EU) which gave obligations to businesses, the recent EU exit has meant that the law has changed. 

It is also worth keeping in mind that there is specific safety legislation in many product sectors. For example, there are specific rules in the industries of: 

• toy products; 
• electrical goods products; and 
• machinery products. 

The General Product Safety Regulations 2005

The General Product Safety Regulations 2005 is the relevant part of the law. They require all products to be ‘safe’ in the ‘normal or reasonably foreseeable usage’. This means that the product you sell must be safe for any purpose, which you could predict a consumer might use it for. 

What This Means for You

First of all, if your business sells consumer products in England or Wales, you must not sell products that you know are unsafe. Therefore, this means that you are prohibited from selling a product if you have noticed that it may be unsafe.

If you are made aware of a safety risk related to a product you have sold, you have a legal duty to report this to your local Trading Standards service. If you fail to report the safety risk upon learning about it, then you could become liable if the unsafe product causes harm to the consumer. 

For example, an unsafe product could be a food item that you later learn was produced in a factory without a high level of safety standards. Similarly, it could also be a building product which is inappropriate for certain construction projects. In both cases, your product will be unsafe, and you will be under an obligation to report the safety risk to: 

• the manufacturer; 
• your supplier; and
• the Trading Standards service. 

What Happens When You Report an Unsafe Product

Suppose your product is sent to you from a manufacturer, and you let the manufacturer know that it is a dangerous product. In that case, the manufacturer will be under an obligation to remedy the product. If you are also the manufacturer, then this will be your obligation. 

The requirement to remedy the product might be achieved through: 

• modifying the product; 
• issuing new instructions on how to use the product; or
• requiring consumers to stop using the product and return it for a refund. 

What to Do to Mitigate Risk

Above all, it will be very important that you do everything in your power to make sure that your product: 

• is safe; 
• meets regulation standards; and 
• is unlikely to cause injury. 

If your business is not the manufacturer of the product, then you may want to enter into a product liability insurance agreement. This will make it so that your insurance can cover the costs if there is a product liability issue. Further, you will want to check which type of insurance you are getting. One which covers legal fees will also be important, as legal fees can seriously harm your business if you find yourself in a product liability dispute. 

Key Takeaways

Making sure that your products are safe will be essential for your business. You can do so by checking the relevant law depending on the product that you are selling, and making sure that you meet the safety requirements. The general rules require that your products are fit and safe for the purpose for which they are sold or for any purpose for which they may be used which you could reasonably foresee. You may also want to enter into an insurance agreement to mitigate any potential risk to your business. 

If you need help with understanding the product safety laws, our experienced regulatory and compliance lawyers can assist as part of our LegalVision membership. For a low monthly fee, you will have unlimited access to lawyers to answer your questions and draft and review your documents. Call us today on 0808 196 8584 or visit our membership page.

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