PAT Testing Is The Only Way To Comply With The Electricity At Work Regulations 1989

All businesses are required under the Electricity at Work Regulations 1989 to ensure that the portable appliances that their employees are required to use are safe for them to do so. That is a fair and logical requirement. This includes all sorts of thing such as laptops, printers, copiers, and even the office kettle which is used for making the coffee. Basically, it includes anything which has a plug on the end of a cable attached to it. 

If you are the employer, then it is beholden to you to ensure their safety, yet unless you are a qualified electrical engineer it is extremely unlikely that you could do so. Certainly, you can carry out a visual inspection and it might appear that, on the surface, the appliance is perfectly safe. However, the fact is that it could still be extremely unsafe. The only way to be sure is to use the services of a PAT testing company which has qualified engineers who can carry out such testing. PAT stands simply for Portable Appliance Testing.

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Landlords Will Be Required By Law To Have An Inspection Of Their Electrical Wiring

Fixed electrical testing is known by a number of different names but is technically an EICR which stands for Electrical Installation Condition Report. It is also known as fixed wire testing, periodic inspection and testing, and hard wire testing, among others. 

It is the duty of all employers and landlords to ensure that the wiring in their buildings is safe. This is in addition to the requirement on employers and landlords to ensure that portable equipment is safe, which comes under the heading of PAT testing. Fixed electrical testing inspects and checks the condition of the wiring in the building together with any non-portable appliances such as a heated towel rail, wired-in electric cooker, hard-wired smoke alarms, and more. 

Perhaps somewhat strangely, there is no requirement on an employer to undertake fixed electrical testing per se, but simply to ensure that the wiring is safe. However, without having it tested by a qualified engineer who will produce what is known as an EICR – Electrical Installation Condition Report – there is no real way of knowing whether it is safe or not. 

The fact is that electrical wiring does deteriorate over time, depending on the amount of use and other factors, and eventually it will need replacement. 

Furthermore, there is a new onus on landlords to ensure that the electrical wiring in their properties is safe. The Electrical Safety Standards in the Private Rented Sector (England) Regulations 2020 places a continuous duty on landlords in England to maintain their property to the electrical safety standards and to have evidence of this. In turn, that means that any new tenancy created or renewed after July 1st this year requires an EICR provided by a qualified expert. If a landlord has a pre-existing tenancy, an EICR will need to be provided before April 1st next year (2021). However, if you rent a property on a long lease of seven years or more, or you have a lodger, you are not required to have an EICR.

In addition, if the local authority requires a copy of an EICR, it must be provided within seven days, failing which the landlord could suffer penalties.

New Regulations Are Coming into Force Regarding Electrical Wiring In Tenanted Properties

Every business owner or operator is required under the Electricity at Work Regulations 1989 to ensure that not only all the electrical appliances and pieces of equipment that staff have to use are safe, but the actual wiring in the building is as well. Testing the equipment is known as PAT testing (Portable Appliance Testing), while testing the wiring and other fixed appliances, such as a heated towel rail, hard-wired smoke alarms, or an electric cooker, come under the heading of EICR – an Electrical Installation Condition Report - which is also known as Fixed Wire Testing. A qualified engineer will undertake fixed wire testing, and after thorough testing if everything is in order, will issue fixed wire testing certificates.

New regulations come into force on July 1st this year which will now require landlords to maintain electrical safety in their properties and, if required, to be able to show evidence of this. That means that any rented property must meet the requirements of the 18th edition of the Wiring Regulations and that landlords need to have fixed wire testing certificates from a qualified engineer in order to prove it. 

There is a problem here, in that this does not allow for a qualified engineer to confirm that a property is safe if they do not meet these standards. This is because, although a landlord may have taken every care to ensure the safety of tenants and have an EICR to prove it, the property may still not meet the latest requirements for the simple reason that they did not exist at the time, as the 18th edition is a very recent publication. This could mean substantial alterations to the property.

According to the Residential Landlords Association, the new regulations are aimed at the 22% of landlords who fail to have the electrical installations of their property inspected. The advice of the RLA to landlords who do have an EICR is to wait for further guidance before undertaking any expensive, and possibly unnecessary, alterations to their property. No doubt, further information will be available in due course.

Do You Need A Fire Alarm Installation For Your Business?

Having a fire alarm installed is a legal requirement for premises that require them, but many employers are not certain whether they should have one installed or not.

The fact is that you probably do not need a fire alarm if all of the following statements are true:

• Your premises are small, simple, and single-storey or open-plan
• You don’t store any high-risk substances, such as chemicals
• You don’t undertake any high-risk activities, such as cooking
• You don’t have any vulnerable occupants, such as the very young, elderly or disabled.
• A fire would be easily spotted if it broke out anywhere in the premises
• A shout of ‘fire!’ would be easily heard by all occupants

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The Reason Why Regular PAT Testing Is Necessary For Your Business

Portable Appliance Testing – also known as PAT testing – is the process of ensuring that all of the appliances that you, as an employer, require your employees to use are actually safe for them to do so. This can be everything from a computer, to the office coffee making machine. The law actually requires you to ensure that they are safe to use, the specific law being the Electricity at Work Regulations 1989.

This is why portable appliance testing is essential.  A qualified engineer carries out visual checks and also uses a pat testing machine to  give the necessary readings to identify if the appliance is safe or not.  The only way that you can be certain is to have regular PAT testing of all your electrical items.

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The Risk Of Employing Tradesmen Who Are Not Sufficiently Qualified

The technical director, Mike Smith, and director of employment and skills, Andrew Eldred, of the Electrical Contractors Association, have highlighted the continued risk of fire, following the Grenfell fire, as a result of the use of what they refer to as under-qualified installers.

Their view is that electricians, plumbers, and builders who are insufficiently qualified are still being used, and that this is likely to lead to a higher risk of electrocution and fire.

They have warned both the government and industry against a “counterproductive trend towards short classroom-based courses which claim to prepare budding tradespeople for electrical and other installation work. They do not provide the technical understanding, or the extended real-life, on-the-job experience needed to ensure safe electrical work”.

They also say that in particular “it is time to say a final goodbye to the so-called “five-week wonders” – wrongly deemed by some as competent to design and install electrical work”. In addition, they state that within the electrotechnical industry many individuals are claiming to be competent electricians despite having trained, in some cases, for only a matter of weeks.

The problem with all this for a businessman or woman is that they could quite easily call in someone to repair an electrical appliance, or change the wiring on something, in the belief that the electrician that arrived is fully qualified Pat Tester and therefore competent to carry out whatever work is required. Let’s face it, electricity can be extremely dangerous, and it is worrying that you could discover that the electrician who arrived had spent five weeks in a classroom and had precious little experience of practical work out in the real world.

PAT Testing Is Essential In Order To Ensure Safety Of Electrical Equipment

In order to ensure the safety of portable electrical appliances, it is necessary to have Portable Appliance Testing done on a regular basis. The legal requirements relating to the use of electrical equipment are contained in the Electricity at Work Regulations 1989 and require that electrical equipment and systems must be maintained, so far as is reasonably practical, to prevent danger.

That includes equipment that is either hand-held or hand-operated while connected to the supply or is intended to be moved or likely to be moved. Any extension leads, plugs, sockets, and cord sets that supply the power are also classed as portable equipment. This also includes appliances which are fixed such as in public areas of hotels or changing rooms, like hair dryers. The electrical supply to the equipment is assumed to be of a voltage that can give a fatal electric shock.

There are certain things to bear in mind. For example, equipment that is used more should be tested more frequently, for the simple reason that it is more likely to get damaged. If people report any damage to regularly used equipment, then there is less chance of a problem. However, if equipment regularly receives abuse or damage, then PAT testing should be carried out more often.

Furthermore, the type of equipment that is being used also has an effect. Hand-held appliances are more likely to suffer damage than those which are stationary, even if they are described as portable.

The Electrical Wiring In Your Home Or Business Needs A Regular Check-up

Nothing lasts forever. And that applies to all of the electrical wiring in your home, business, or wherever else it may be.

The big problem with electrical wiring is that you can’t see it. It is hidden away in the walls, the ceilings, and under the floors of buildings, and so we just never think about it. Consider this: when you enter a room and it is dark and you are about to press the light switch, do you wonder if the light will actually come on? Of course not.

Even if by some small chance it didn’t, you would immediately think that the bulb had blown and go and get another from the store cupboard. The last thing on most people’s minds would be wondering if there was something wrong with the wiring.

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Electricity Has The Power To Kill, And Sometimes Does

Electricity is all around us. We use it all day and every day. It powers our phones, our laptops, our tablets, the lighting in our homes, street lamps, electric vehicles, cookers, radiators, the tills that we pay at for our shopping in retail giants, our kettles, the water for a shower or bath – the list just goes on and on.

Yet here is the strange thing: you cannot see electricity; you cannot hear it; you cannot smell it; you cannot taste it. Yet you will pretty soon know if you touch it! Depending on the amount of power it is producing, you will either feel a slight shock, or on the other hand it can kill you. Quite easily. In 2015/2016 there were some 1,380 deaths in the UK caused as a result of electricity. Between 2010 and 2016, 26 electricians died – and these are the people who are trained in the use of electricity. (Source:  http://www.neighbourhoodwatch.net/how-many-electricians-die-a-year-in-the-uk/). 

The problem is that, as far as most of us are concerned, electricity is just “there”. We don’t think about how it gets to where we need to use it, because all the cables and wires are hidden in the walls, floors, and ceilings of buildings, and run underground through the streets in order to get to the building in the first place. 

But here’s the catch: all those wires, cables, sockets, and so on, deteriorate over time. But because we can’t see them, or they are tucked away in a cupboard, we don’t give them a second thought. Yet faulty and old wiring is one of the main causes of electrical fires in buildings. However old your electrical installation is, it may get damaged and will suffer from wear and tear.

How old is your electrical installation? Well, for example, if you have fixed cables coated in rubber, they have not been used since the 1960’s. Fixed cables coated in lead or fabric are even older.
Light switches on bathroom walls are prior to the 1960’s. There are other indications as well. The short answer is that you should have your electrical installation checked by a qualified electrical testing companies and get an EICR report (Electrical Installation Condition Report) on a regular basis.

In a private home that is every ten years, but in commercial premises it may be as little as every three.

Over Half A Million Washing Machines Affected By Dangerous Fault

If you have bought a Hotpoint or Indesit washing machine since 2014 you may have one of the 20% or so of machines that are affected by a fault and are being recalled by the manufacturers, Whirlpool especially during Christmas time. Over half a million machines in Britain are affected.

The problem is that when the heating element in the machine is activated the extra current that runs through the machine can cause a component in the door lock system to overheat. According to Whirlpool, depending on the product features, this can cause a risk of fire. However, the company claims that this can only happen in “very rare” cases. Nonetheless, the company is recalling some 519,000 machines.

Seventy-nine fires are thought to have been caused by the fault, which develops over time according to Whirlpool, although “none had been significant enough to cause more than minor damage or cause any serious injuries.

To Read more: PAT testing