Leicester City Council - Register Your Business

Office, Shops and Railway Premises Act 1961

If you employ or are intending to employ any persons to work in an office or shop premises, you are required under Section 49 of the Offices, Shops and Railway Premises Act 1963 (OSR1) to register your business with your appropriate enforcing authority.

The Act defines "Office Premises" as a building or part of a building where the following businesses or work activities take place:

Administration
Clerical work
Handling money
Telephone Operating
Ticket Offices
Travel Agencies
Betting Offices

The Act defines "Shop Premises" as a shop, building or part of a building where the following businesses or work activities take place:

Retail trade including the sale of food and drink, sale by auction, lending of books for personal gain
Restaurants and bars including those in hotels that are principally used to serve non residents
Wholesale dealer or merchant
Repair or treatment of goods either by the business proprietor or members of public e.g. self service laundries
Storage and trade of coal, coke and similar solid fuel

The following premises are exempt from registering under the above legislation:

All employees are close relatives, i.e. spouse, children, siblings, parents, grandparents or grandchildren
The sum of hours worked each week by all employees does not normally exceed 21 hour

To register with Leicester City Council's Health and Safety Team please complete the attached OSR1 form. Guidance notes on how to complete the form can be found on the second page.

Please either post the form to the address on the bottom or email it as an attachment to healthandsafetyteam@leicester.gov.uk

Even if your business does not fall into the category of Shop or Office it may still be useful for you to register. It would assist us in maintaining an up to date list of businesses in the city and we may be able to offer you useful Health and Safety advice tailored to your business type.