Working in Northern Ireland

In Northern Ireland you're under HSENI, not the GB HSE. The law and duties feel very similar on site, but the regulator, forms and contact routes are different.

In NI, waste is policed differently to England, Scotland and Wales. You can't just copy-paste what you know from the mainland.

Planning in Northern Ireland runs on its own system, policies and Permitted Development rules — separate from England, Scotland and Wales.

In Northern Ireland, small claims run through the County Court Small Claims Court — separate from the small claims track in England and Wales, and different from Scotland's Simple Procedure.

Northern Ireland is not under the Building Regulations 2010. It has its own law, its own guidance documents, and its own building control system.

Technical Booklet B sits behind everything else in NI building regs: the rules on materials and workmanship that every other booklet assumes you're meeting.

Booklet C is about keeping water out and making sure you're not building on something that'll cause problems later.

Technical Booklet D is about safety on stairs, ramps, guarding and protection from falling, collision and impact.

In Northern Ireland, Technical Booklet E is fire safety — this is where your means of escape, fire resistance and alarms live.

Technical Booklet F is the energy efficiency bit — the one that decides how much insulation, how tight the building needs to be, and how efficient the kit has to run.

Technical Booklet G is about sound — stopping noise travelling between homes so people don't hear every word, step and flush next door.

Technical Booklet H is about drainage and waste water — getting foul and surface water away from the building safely, reliably and without causing a stink or a health issue.

Technical Booklet I is about making sure buildings have enough toilets and wash facilities in the right places, with proper hygiene standards.

Technical Booklet J is about heat-producing appliances and fuel storage — stoves, boilers, flues, hearths, chimneys, and where you keep oil and solid fuel.

Technical Booklet K is the rulebook for how external walls and roofs should be built so they don't crack, leak or blow away.

Technical Booklet L sits alongside Booklet J in covering combustion and fire safety, but with more emphasis on the whole heating and storage system — especially oil-fired installations and oil tank siting.

Technical Booklet M is about access and facilities for people with disabilities — step-free routes, door widths, ramps, accessible WCs, and the like.

Technical Booklet N deals with noise in a broader sense than Booklet G — noise control more generally, especially for non-domestic or special-use buildings.

These three booklets cover non-domestic electrics, ventilation, and overheating protection in Northern Ireland.

Technical Booklet O is about access to and around buildings — especially vehicle access, parking, and how people move safely across the site.

Technical Booklet P is NI's domestic electrical safety piece — roughly filling the space that Part P does in England, but under NI's own building regulations and alongside BS 7671.

Technical Booklet T is the accessibility and inclusive design piece — making buildings and their surroundings usable by as many people as possible.

Technical Booklet V is about glazing — safety in relation to impact, opening and cleaning.

Fire and CO alarm rules compared: England vs Wales vs Scotland. Each country has different requirements — know which apply.