Many businesses are told that every electrical item must be tested every year. It isn’t true, and following that rule can mean paying for tests you don’t need while missing the equipment that really is at risk.
What the law actually says
The Electricity at Work Regulations 1989 require electrical equipment that could cause injury to be maintained in a safe condition. That’s the duty. The regulations don’t say how it should be done, who should do it, or how often.
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is clear on this. There is no legal requirement to test every item every year, to label equipment, or to keep records, although records are a sensible way to show that you’re managing the risk.
So how often should equipment be checked?
It depends on two things: the type of equipment and how and where it’s used. HSE describes three levels of check:
- User checks. The person using the equipment looks for obvious damage before using it: a damaged cable, a cracked plug, scorch marks, loose parts.
- Formal visual inspection. A trained person carries out a more careful look, including inside the plug where it can be opened.
- Combined inspection and test. The full test with a PAT tester, which can find faults you can’t see, such as a failed earth connection.
HSE’s view is that most faults can be found by looking. That’s why user checks and visual inspections matter more than many people think.
Equipment that needs checking more often
Equipment takes more wear, and needs checking more often, when it is:
- moved around a lot or held in the hand while used, such as power tools, floor cleaners and kettles
- used in a harsh environment, such as a construction site, a workshop, outdoors or in a kitchen
- earthed (Class I) rather than double insulated (Class II), because a fault in the earth connection can only be found by testing
- used by lots of different people, or by the public
Equipment that needs checking less often
In low-risk environments such as offices, shops and hotel rooms, equipment that stays in one place takes very little wear. HSE’s guidance for low-risk workplaces suggests that much of this equipment only needs an occasional visual inspection, and that some double-insulated equipment needs no routine electrical test at all.
A desk lamp in an office and a drill on a building site might both be “portable appliances”, but they don’t need the same treatment.
Setting your interval
A sensible approach is to:
- start from the type of equipment and where it’s used
- look at the results of previous tests: if very few items fail, the interval can often be longer
- make sure users know what to look for, and how to report a problem
- review the interval if anything changes, such as a move to a new building or a change in how equipment is used
When we test, we recommend an interval for your equipment rather than applying a blanket annual rule, and we’ll tell you if you’re testing more often than you need to.
Do you need labels and records?
Not by law, but they help. Labels show at a glance which items have been tested and when, and a list of results shows what has been checked, what failed and what was done about it. If you ever need to show an insurer or an inspector how you manage electrical safety, those records are your evidence.
If you’d like your equipment tested, or a second opinion on how often you’re doing it, see our PAT testing service or get a quote.