New publications this month:

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY AND INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY (BEIS)

Using the UKCA mark from 1 January 2021

The UK Conformity Assessment (UKCA) mark will be introduced after the end of the post-Brexit transition period on 31 December 2020. The mark will provide a UK equivalent to the EU CE marking and conformity assessment regime.

EU-based businesses will need to appoint an authorised or responsible person in the UK to undertake UKCA marking.

Time-limited recognition of CE marking

CE marking and EU conformity assessment documentation will continue to be recognised in Great Britain until 1 January 2022.

Legislation subject to these changes

The UKCA marking, conformity assessment and certification regime will be mandatory for products under to the following legislation from 1 January 2022.

Additionally, from 1 January 2023 the UKCA mark must be placed directly on each product.

Where UKCA marking is immediately required from 1 January 2021

UKCA marking will be required from 1 January 2021 in a limited number of circumstances, where the following are met:

• Placed on the Great British market;
• Is subject to legislation requiring UKCA marking;
• Requires a third party conformity assessment;
• Where conformity assessment has been undertaken by a UK conformity assessment body, if conformity assessment files have not been transferred to a EU recognised body by 1 January 2021; and
• The goods are not existing CE marked stock.

Northern Ireland

Due to the Northern Ireland Protocol and arrangements from 1 January 2021, products placed on the Northern Irish market will continue to need CE marking unless coming from Great Britain, where the UK(NI) mark and conformity documents will be acceptable. The UKCA mark will not be recognised in Northern Ireland.

Guidance on the UK(NI) and CE conformity regimes in Northern Ireland from 2021 has also been published by BEIS.

UKCA Guidance for specific types of goods

Guidance has been published on the specific conformity rules that will apply to the following product types from 1 January 2021:

• medical devices;
• rail interoperability constituents;
• construction products;
• civil explosives; and
• products requiring ecodesign and energy labelling.

DEPARTMENT FOR ENVIRONMENT, FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS (DEFRA)

Prepare your food and drink business for 1 January 2021

Guidance is provided on rules that will apply to these businesses after the end of the post-Brexit transition period. Guidance covers the following topics:

• Importing and exporting
• Food and organic produce labelling
• Marketing standards
• Food products not subject to specific EU rules (‘non-harmonised products’)
• Obligations to employees
• Chemical regulations
• Data protection

HEALTH AND SAFETY EXECUTIVE (HSE)

Chemicals classification, labelling and packaging (CLP) after the transition period

This guidance concerns the Great Britain Classification, Labelling and Packaging (GB CLP) regime. Existing classification, labelling and packaging requirements under the EU regime will be retained under this system.

From 1 January 2021 businesses supplying Great Britain will be required to deal with the HSE as the GB CLP agency, rather than the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) as present.

Proposals will need to be made to the HSE for new or updated classification and labelling information from 1 January 2021. For example, this will include chemicals that have not previously been notified under the EU CLP regime.

A scenario table provides actions and key dates businesses manufacturing, supplying and using chemicals should be aware of.

Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and restriction of Chemicals (REACH) regulation at the end of the transition period

A series of specific guidance is provided on the UK REACH regime that will apply from 1 January 2021.  

Export and import of hazardous chemicals (PIC) after the transition period

Changes to the prior informed consent (PIC) regime for exports of hazardous chemicals from 1 January 2021 are described.

For example, Great British companies exporting listed chemicals to the any location, including the EU and Northern Ireland, will need to notify the export to the HSE at least 35 days before the first export and at least 35 days before every first export to each importing country in each calendar year.

Biocides: What you'll need to do after the transition period ends

A Great British version of the Biocidal Products Regulation (GB BPR) will apply from 1 January 2021. Existing authorisations and approvals from the EU regime will be retained under the GB system, but the supporting information on active substances may need to be resubmitted to the HSE.

Biocidal product authorisation holders will need to be established in the UK (including Northern Ireland) by 1 January 2022 in order to maintain these authorisations in a Great British context.

A scenario table summarises actions businesses will need to take under the GB BPR and the respective dates these will apply from.

Regulating explosives when the transition period ends

Guidance is provided on the requirements to place explosives on the EU, Great Britain and Northern Irish markets from 1 January 2021.

• Civil explosive goods will continue to require CE marking to place them on the EU market and must continue to receive conformity assessment by a EU-recognised notified body.
• Goods placed on the Great British market from 1 January 2022 will need to meet UKCA requirements, including marking.

Social distancing to make your workplace COVID-secure

Guidance on making your workplace COVID-secure has been updated.  

Health and safety spot checks and inspections during coronavirus (COVID-19)

Information is provided on spot checks and inspections to be undertaken by the HSE regarding COVID-secure procedures.

Protect vulnerable workers during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic

This guidance has been updated.

RIDDOR reporting of COVID-19

Guidance on reporting occupational exposure to COVID-19 under the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013 (RIDDOR) has been updated.

Research report: RR1161 - The response of large pressure vessels in the process industries to excess pressure: literature review

This report concerns the impact of overpressure on the likelihood of failures.

Manufacturer fined after worker’s arm caught in machinery    

A  manufacturer of composite hose products has been fined after an agency worker was injured when they were pulled into a lathe.

On 20 November 2018, the worker was operating a lathe at a site in Bromborough when the sleeve of his sweatshirt caught between a pitch wheel and rotating mandrel, pulling his arm into the machine. This resulted in an open fracture of the ulna (a long bone found in the forearm) and the radial shaft of his right arm, leaving it permanently weak, making day-to-day tasks difficult and stressful. He also suffered severe bruising to his body and skin abrasions.

An HSE investigation found that the company had not identified the risk of entrapment or the necessary controls required to avoid it. The risk was increased as the lathe had been modified which made operators work closer to the entrapment hazard. The company had failed to effectively prevent access to dangerous parts of the machinery. They also failed to provide a safe system of work for the task and had not provided adequate instruction and training to ensure its workers were competent to operate the machinery.

Breaches

Novaflex Ltd pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2 and Section 3 of Health and Safety at Work Act 1974.

• Section 2 requires employers to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health, safety and welfare at work of their employees.

• Section 3 requires that employers ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, that persons they do not employ who may be affected are not exposed to risks to their health and safety.

Penalty

Novaflex Ltd was fined £22,000 and ordered to pay costs of £7,021.30.

Manufacturer of metal pressing fined after forklift truck collision with worker

A South Wales manufacturer of metal pressings and sub-assemblies for the automotive industry has been fined after a worker was struck by a forklift truck.

On 23 November 2018, a worker at the premises in Tredegar was struck by a forklift truck. The worker suffered a serious brain injury and needed to be placed in an induced coma.

An HSE investigation found that there was inadequate control of workplace transport risks. This included lack of segregation between vehicles and pedestrians, no safe pedestrian crossings where vehicle and pedestrian routes crossed and insufficient safety signage to highlight hazards.

Breach

G-Tekt Europe Manufacturing Limited was found guilty of breaching Regulation 4(1) of the Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992:

• Regulation 4(1) requires that employers ensure every workplace workplace, modification, extension or conversion which is under his control and where any of his employees works complies with any requirement of the Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992.

Penalty

G-Tekt Europe Manufacturing Limited was fined £525,000 and ordered to pay costs of £8,014.40.

Transport company fined after employee was fatally crushed at work

A transport company from Buckinghamshire has been fined after a worker was fatally injured at work.

On 23 November 2016, an agency driver was undertaking a delivery for Reason Transport UK Limited in High Wycombe. The driver was delivering a pallet of stone tiles using a tail-lift and a manual pallet truck. The driver spent several minutes struggling to lift and manoeuvre the pallet onto the truck’s tail-lift. However, when he eventually succeeded in doing so he lost control of the pallet. The pallet fell onto the worker, causing him to suffer fatal crush injuries.

An HSE investigation found that the weight of the pallet was recorded as 1,200 kg but was actually in excess of 1,400 kg. The pallet therefore exceeded the 1,000 kg weight limit set by the pallet network for tail-lift deliveries. The driver had worked for the company for two weeks and had not received any training for the safe delivery of pallets using a tail-lift.

Breach

Reason Transport UK Limited, now in liquidation, pleaded guilty to breaching Section 3(1) of Health and Safety at Work Act 1974.

Penalty

Reason Transport UK Limited was fined £5,000.