Once it comes to office furnishing, British businesses have to consider several essential matters:
- Efficiency;
- Design;
- Sustainability;
- Safety.
While the first three factors are pretty subjective and may vary according to the company's budget, specification, size and many other factors, safety is a mandatory matter once it comes to office furniture.
While there is still no defined legislation on office furniture safety in the United Kingdom, the requirements of VDU (Virtual Display Unit) Health and Safety at Work Legislation make the matter pretty clear.
According to the law, an employer must provide each worker with a safe workplace. He is also responsible for employees` health throughout the workday. Proper office furniture is a massive part of the matter, which may become confusing and tricky for many business owners.
On the one hand, truly reliable, durable and safe office chairs, desks and cupboards may come out pretty expensive. Still, at the same time, legal and financial complications after workplace accidents or due to inappropriate furnishing may indeed destroy any business.
In this article, we shall explain why used office furniture may be a perfect solution for any British business.
Office furnishing in the UK: trends change, requirements remain.
Once we talk about design, business image or sustainability, the rules of the office furnishing game may vary from one town to another.
But in the matter of safety, office furniture falls under the same rule in London as it does in Cardiff or Manchester. However, once you take a closer look at the regulations and practice, buying used office furniture or your business in the UK becomes the only rational decision.
Let's go over the main ideas:
- Information – once you are not a professional orthopedic or chiropractic, it might be pretty hard for you to distinguish whether the office chairs you see on display correlate with the British safety requirements. However, once we talk about used office chairs, you can easily find numerous reviews on the Internet to make an informed decision;
- Adjustment – pre-owned office furniture pieces naturally go through certain adjustments and amendments during the time it serves to the previous owner. It means that once you get a used office desk or a second-hand office chair, you may be sure that the previous owner resolved possible issues with regulation mechanisms, squeaky cupboard doors or wobbly shelves.
- Guarantees – modern furniture industry is one of the most active. New items, trends and pieces appear every day. As attractive as they might look, not every fancy office chair or desk may comply with the British workplace safety regulations. Designers and manufacturers naturally put exterior and trendy materials before "boring" conformism. However, once you buy used office furniture from a British business, you may be sure that the pieces you are getting have been tested in action at a workplace and correspond to all the requirements.
That said, the idea of buying used office furniture for your Liverpool real estate office, London startup or any other British business seems like a wise investment.
By the way, talking about investment, used office furniture might be exactly when a British business may save money while making sure that the workplace is most safe and efficient.
- Cost-cutting – on the British market, prices for used office furniture are usually at least 35% less than for new analogue items. It means that a business may afford more advanced office furnishing on its budget while choosing second-hand office furniture.
- A wider choice – the British market of used office furniture is highly diverse. You are not restricted with the current collection or limited inventory buying use office chairs and desks. You can mix and match various brands, styles and materials within the same inventory.
- Time-efficiency – time is money. When you order office furniture, you want it to arrive and come to action as soon as possible, so your employees could start working immediately. However, new office furniture always requires assembling, adjustment and installation. Eventually, a business will waste more time and money than it might seem from the beginning. Not to mention that you will have to wait until the ordered items are manufactured and delivered to you in many cases. With used office furniture, you get the delivery almost immediately; all the items are assembled and adjusted. All you have to do is arrange the instant workplace.
As you see, there is a reason why so many British offices prefer buying used office furniture. This policy allows them to save money and guarantees to get safe and efficient furnishing according to the legal regulations and the company's corporate policy.