Regulations Affecting Electrical Installations and Equipment in the Workplace

All electrical installations will deteriorate over a period of time. How quickly or slowly they will deteriorate depends on the amount of use they get, the working environment, and how regularly they are maintained. In order to ensure the safety of employees and customers, a business should have testing of the electrical installations on a regular basis.

There is actually no specific law regarding the testing of electrical installations, but there are several laws regarding safety in the workplace. The simplest way to ensure that you are complying with these laws is to have an EICR inspection carried out on a regular basis. EICR stands for Electrical Inspection Condition Report, and while there are no specific regulations regarding an EICR it is recommended that in industrial premises an inspection should be carried out every three years. In other commercial premises it is every five, and in domestic premises every ten. An inspection should also be carried out whenever there is a change of occupancy.

The Health & Safety at Work Act 1974 states that employers and employees must ensure the health and safety of everyone in the workplace – including any visitors or customers.

The Electricity at Work Regulations 1989 specify what constitutes electrical equipment and requires that electrical systems must be maintained. A regular inspection is a part of preventative maintenance. The Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 requires the employer to ensure that any equipment used by employees that uses a source of electrical energy must be safely maintained. That doesn’t only include equipment used for the job, but includes anything else, such as a kettle.

Insurance companies are increasingly requiring electrical inspections to be carried out before providing insurance. If an avoidable accident or fire occurs as the result of faulty equipment you can be brought before a court and if found guilty will have committed a criminal offence.

People do ask about an electrical installation condition report cost, but there is no straightforward answer. The electrical inspection condition report cost for a 25-storey hotel will obviously be more than the cost for a knitting wool shop or an office with half a dozen employees.