Top compliance challenges for new business owners

Starting a business is exciting — but the compliance landscape that comes with it can feel overwhelming. From health and safety obligations to water hygiene regulations, new business owners face a significant number of legal duties from day one. Falling short isn’t just a financial risk: it can put people’s lives in danger.

At NuVeil, we work alongside building owners, facilities managers, and new business operators every day to help them understand and meet their obligations. This guide covers the most common compliance challenges we see — and what you can do about them.

1. Understanding your duty of care

The Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 places a general duty of care on employers to protect the health, safety, and welfare of employees and anyone else who may be affected by their business activities. For new business owners, this means conducting risk assessments, implementing controls, and keeping records — before you open your doors, not after.

Many new operators mistakenly believe compliance is something to worry about once they’re up and running. In reality, regulators and insurers expect these frameworks to be in place from the start. A documented risk assessment is not a bureaucratic formality — it is the foundation on which your compliance programme is built.

2. Water hygiene and Legionella control

One of the most commonly overlooked obligations for new business owners is the duty to manage the risk of Legionella bacteria in water systems. Under the Health and Safety at Work Act and the Approved Code of Practice L8, anyone responsible for a premises with a water system — from a small office to a large
commercial building — is legally required to assess and control the risk.

Legionella bacteria thrive in water systems where temperatures sit between 20°C and 45°C, and where stagnation or scale allow bacteria to multiply. If aerosolised water (for example, from a shower, tap, or cooling tower) is inhaled, it can cause Legionnaires’ disease — a potentially fatal form of pneumonia.

For most small businesses with simple cold and hot water systems, a straightforward risk assessment and monitoring regime will suffice. For more complex systems — including cooling towers, spa pools, or large hot and cold water networks — specialist management is required. NuVeil’s water hygiene team can assess your specific obligations and put a proportionate programme in place.

3. Asbestos management

If your business operates from a building constructed or refurbished before the year 2000, asbestos-containing materials (ACMs) may be present. Under the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012, the ‘dutyholder’ — typically the building owner or the employer responsible for maintenance — has a duty to manage asbestos in non-domestic premises.

This does not necessarily mean removing asbestos. In many cases, ACMs in good condition are best left in place and managed through a documented asbestos management plan. What the regulations require is that you know where the asbestos is, what condition it is in, and that you prevent anyone from accidentally disturbing it.

• Obtain or commission an asbestos survey if one is not already in place
• Maintain an asbestos register and keep it accessible to contractors
• Review the register regularly and re-inspect ACMs at appropriate intervals
• Ensure any contractor working on the building has seen the register before commencing work

4. Fire safety

The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 (as amended by the Fire Safety Act 2021 and the Building Safety Act 2022) requires the ‘responsible person’ — usually the employer or building owner — to carry out a fire risk assessment and implement appropriate fire safety measures. This applies to virtually all non-domestic premises.

Common failings seen in new businesses include inadequate escape routes, missing or expired fire extinguisher servicing records, absent or outdated fire risk assessments, and staff who have not received fire safety training. Each of these is potentially a criminal offence.

5. Electrical safety

The Electricity at Work Regulations 1989 require that all electrical systems are maintained in a safe condition. For landlords and premises managers, this increasingly means having a fixed wiring inspection (EICR — Electrical Installation Condition Report) carried out at regular intervals. For most commercial premises, this should be every five years.

Portable appliance testing (PAT) is also a recognised method of demonstrating that portable electrical equipment is maintained safely, though the frequency and scope should be proportionate to the risk.

6. Record-keeping: the compliance backbone

Across every area of compliance, documentation is critical. Risk assessments, monitoring logs, contractor records, training certificates, and maintenance records all serve a dual purpose: they demonstrate due diligence to regulators and insurers, and they help you identify and address risks before they become incidents.

New business owners often underestimate how quickly these records accumulate — and how difficult it can be to reconstruct them after the fact. Building good record-keeping habits from the outset is far less costly than trying to demonstrate compliance after an incident or inspection.