my 3.5 metre trade ladders will last me for the rest of my working life now as they only get used a few times a week! 
do you honestly think there going to have "ladder police" making sure your sticking to the new regulations?....i dont!
The time it could become an issue is if there is an accident and the insurance company get involved. If you were using a DIY ladder for industrial purposes then that could become an issue even if it had nothing to do with the accident. An example could be an unexpected gust of wind blowing an unattended ladder over.
We don't have any industrial customers where we use our ladders, but the new regulations for ladders would classify our ladders as DIY. So really we would be bending the spirit of the regulations by using a DIY ladder for trade purposes on residential work.
We all bought the lightest ladders we could get when we were trad as we carried them a long way each day. I have a set of heavy duty ladders in the garage and I could never carry those around, even when I was fitter back in younger days. They are far too heavy.
Well my triple Lyte arrived today. Putting an ankalad stabilizer on it. I would recommend people get theit class 2 trade ladders before they're sold out or they're be stuck with diy or the new heavy awkward contraptions nothing in the middle.
What do you mean insurance issues? No ones insured for injury. We all use the NHS. Public liability is for damage to property, I wouldn't worry too much about that! Or do u mean suing someone? Which could be an issue if your ladder isn't to standard
This is my concern. Our old domestic ladder is still in good condition. But it now fits into the classification of a DIY ladder and as such is only suitable for home owner use on his own property.
So from Jan 1 2019 I'm guilty of incorrect ladder use according to the new regulations if I use my DIY ladder for trade purposes. This is the way I interpret the new regulations. If there is an accident then this could lead to further drama if H&S got involved. I bet your insurance company would also question the validity of any claim as the incorrect tools were being used for the job.
In effect, you are only able to continue to use an old spec ladder if it was in good condition and fitted into the industrial heavy duty catagory.
In 2003 I had an accident with my angle grinder and nearly cut my thumb off. It was my own stupidity. I knew better but I tried to take a short cut. It was over a weekend and ended up in surgery as I had cut nerves and tendons in my thumb which they had to reconnect.
There was a fair bit of questioning as to what I was doing, all of which was noted. I asked why all the questions. They replied that they had to report all industrial accidents to the H&S authority. As my injury was domestic they didn't have to report it. Because it happened on a Sunday added more weight to my statement that it was a domestic injury.
So whilst the NHS will patch us up, they will report any injury that they have attended to if it occurred while working commercially. When we clean a customer's windows for a financial reward we are working commercially.
