Product
safety is controlled either through specific National
Safety Legislation or through the revised General Product
Safety Regulations 2005.
As
of the 1st October 2006 each manager / licensee is liable
for the fire regulations regarding conformity of materials
used in manufacturing.
This
means that the furniture supplier is
now responsible for ensuring product safety and advising
the manager/licensee of the legal requirement within
the premises concerned. It is a criminal offence to
supply unsafe products to the public and an offence
can be deemed to have been committed even if nobody
has been injured.
It
is now a legal requirement that the licensee is aware
of the required standard and that a letter from the
manufacturer stating it is FR is not enough, currently
only British testing standards are legally accepted
within the UK. This is a particularly important point
if you have sourced, or are thinking of sourcing furniture
from overseas.
Here are some links to help you understand the required
product safety standards: |