Is PAT Testing A Legal Requirement?
During my time as a Health and safety consultant I have constantly been asked – Is PAT testing a legal requirement? So let me answer this for you. The simple answer is No. Currently within the UK there is no direct legal duty to conduct PAT testing, however the UK Government has placed legal duties on certain duty holders to provide safe electrical systems.
Let us first start out by defining what is a Portable Appliance. The definition of a portable appliance is anything that plugs into an electrical socket and can move. This includes items such as PCs, monitors, toasters, kettles, televisions and specialist building site equipment that plugs into a generator.
The United Kingdom has a number of regulations which are concerned with Electricity, these are:
- Health and Safety at Work Act of 1974
- The Electricity at Work Regulations of 1989
- The Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations of 1998
- The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations of 1999
Even though PAT testing is not a direct legal requirement, it may be argued that the law does require that employers, including self-employed, ensure that all electrical equipment that they provide in their business is safe and properly maintained. Some of our clients have been advised that testing must be conducted annually, the HSE response to this is: The Electricity at Work Regulations 1989 require that any electrical equipment that has the potential to cause injury is maintained in a safe condition. However, the Regulations do not specify what needs to be done, by whom or how frequently (ie they don’t make inspection or testing of electrical appliances a legal requirement, nor do they make it a legal requirement to undertake this annually). So the frequency will be based upon best practise and what is stated within an organisations health and safety policy statement. Also testing depends upon the type of equipment and the environment it is used in. For example, a power tool that is used daily on a construction site should be examined more frequently than a lamp that is used less frequently in a hotel bedroom.