autumn 2015 PRODUCT SAFETY Safe and Sound? We investigate the duty of retailers to sell safe products and what can happen if they dont PRODUCT SAFETY Last issue, we learned why Trading Standards had to prosecute a small retailer for selling an unsafe toy. Nowwe examine the legal obligations placed on retailers when selling consumer goods. Product safety in the UK is governed by a wide regulatory framework consisting of both national and European-derived legislation. The laws apply to any business involved in the import, manufacture and supply of goods to consumers including retailers. You are required to comply with the law and protect consumers by ensuring that your goods are safe. If you cut corners on safety, you could face criminal prosecution, have to withdraw or recall products and face legal action from consumers If you cut corners on safety, you could face criminal prosecution, have to withdraw or recall products from the market, and face legal action from consumers to recover damages for any harm caused. Any products that are intended for consumers, or reasonably likely to be used by them, are required to be safe. This applies whether the goods are new, reconditioned or second-hand. Products are supplied when they are sold, hired, or lent to consumers. A safe product is one that provides either no risk or a minimum acceptable level of risk, taking into account the normal or reasonably foreseeable use of the product and the need to maintain a high level of protection for consumers. You must not supply goods that you believe are dangerous. You are required to monitor the safety of the products you supply, passing on information to the producer, and cooperating with them and Trading Standards if they advise you of a problem. The legislation also requires you to retain proper records of supply, which must be kept for six years. It is a criminal offence to supply unsafe products. You could face criminal proceedings resulting in a fine and forfeiture of the goods, with consequent damage to your business. In addition to criminal law, product liability legislation gives consumers the right to sue for damages for injury caused by defective products. The Consumer Protection Act 1987 extends this protection, in that it provides the same rights to anyone injured by a defective product, whether or not the product was sold to them. Credit: Murray Dewar Images: michaeljung / shutterstock More details, together with links to in-depth guides on the safety of a range of products, are available from the Business Companion website. C yber security: the essentials Cybercrime is estimated to cost the uk economy 27bn a year, while the average annual cost to small businesses of fraud and online crime is around 4,000, according to the federation of Small businesses (fSb). computers up to date will help you to protect yourself from malware. for free advice and information on how to protect your business, visit: www.getsafeonline. org/businesses; www. cyberstreetwise.com 4. use strong passwords. all passwords should be at least eight characters long and should incorporate both letters and numbers. use different passwords for each account, and change them regularly. do not share passwords or write them down where other people could access them. follow these top 10 tips and make a start toward protecting your business from online fraudsters. 1. ensure the computers you use have a firewall that is turned on and anti-virus software that is up to date. businesses may wish to consider using software designed specifically for business, as opposed to that commonly used by consumers. Secure your wireless network. 2. keep all your software up to date. When companies find vulnerabilities in their software, updates are used to patch these security holes. keeping the software running on your 3. back up all your data so it can be easily restored if something goes wrong. 5. limit staff access to online accounts to only those who really need it. 6. train your staff. many frauds happen because staff fall victim to phishing and similar scams, allowing fraudsters to download malware on to a business computers. malware can then automatically capture passwords and credit card numbers. have clear and concise procedures for email, internet and mobile devices. Staff should also be kept up to date on the latest scams. 7. Security test your business website on a regular basis. 8. ensure your business has a contingency plan if it falls victim to cybercrime and test these regularly. 9. keep your business computingand personal computing separate. do not allow your staff to use your business computers for personaluse, for example accessing social media websites,checking personal emails or surfing the web. Weare all likely to be less vigilant when using computers for personal use, increasing the threat of a successful cyber attack. 10. If you are using cloud services to carry out your business, check the providers credentials and the contract you have with them. Report cybercrime to action fraud at www.actionfraud. police.uk and check you are legally compliant by accessing free trading Standards advice at www.businesscompanion.info