Health and safety | UK Regulatory Outlook May 2026

Occupational health and safety 

HSE publishes updated guidance on managing infection and biological risks at work 

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has published updated guidance to help employers manage infection risks and biological hazards in the workplace. The refreshed guidance has been restructured to make it easier to navigate, with content organised by workplace type and exposure risk, and includes stronger signposting to authoritative clinical sources including the NHS and the UK Health Security Agency. Outdated material has been removed, and the guidance reinforces that infection risks should be approached in the same way as any other workplace hazard, with controls proportionate to the nature of the work, the environment and the workforce involved.  

Employers across a wide range of sectors, including healthcare, manufacturing, retail and roles involving regular contact with the public, should treat the update as an opportunity to review existing risk assessments and control measures, particularly where working practices or workforce needs have changed. 

Building safety 

Building Safety (Wales) Bill receives Royal Assent 

The Building Safety (Wales) Bill has received Royal Assent, establishing a new in-occupation building safety regime for multi-occupied residential buildings in Wales. Unlike its English equivalent under the Building Safety Act 2022, the Welsh regime applies to all multi-occupied residential buildings regardless of height, with duties structured across three tiers depending on the size of the building. For a full overview, see this Insight. 

Online safety 

European Committee of the Regions calls for stronger platform accountability and child-safe design 

The European Committee of the Regions has adopted an opinion concluding that the digital space is not safe enough for children and young people, and that responsibility for addressing this should fall on platforms and regulators rather than minors themselves. The opinion calls for regulatory measures to prohibit or restrict addictive design practices, mandatory transparency around mechanisms that promote compulsive use, and rigorous enforcement of Digital Services Act rules on large platforms. It also supports privacy-respecting age verification, mandatory children's rights impact assessments for all digital services, and a "safety by design" approach requiring platforms to eliminate manipulative features such as infinite autoplay, manipulative notifications and reward loops. 

Businesses operating digital platforms or services accessible to minors should note the direction of travel at EU level, particularly around design obligations and age verification, and consider how their products would fare against the standards the opinion advocates. 

See the digital regulation section for more on online safety, age assurance and the UK Online Safety Act.