A Brief Guide to Appliance Testing Legislation

The Electricity at Work Regulations 1989 came into force on 1 April 1990. The legislation  comprises 33 regulations. The objective of this information sheet is to highlight why the  Regulations came about, to whom and to what they relate, and what action is required for  compliance. 

The purpose of the Regulations is to reduce the risk of danger and injury from electricity.  Extract from Regulation 2 – Interpretation: ‘injury’ means death or personal injury from  electric shock, electric burn, electric explosion or arcing, or from fire or explosion initiated  by electric energy. 

The Regulations apply unless you: have no electrical power, work on a ship or aircraft  moving under its own power, have an exemption certificate from Health and Safety  executive, work outside Great Britain and its territorial waters, work on an oil rig or  pipelines. Extract from Regulation 3 – Persons upon whom duties are imposed by the  Regulations: except where otherwise expressly provided in these regulations, it shall be the  duty of every employer and self-employed person to comply with the provision of these  regulations. 

The definition of electrical equipment in the Regulations is all embracing. Extract from  Regulation 2 – Interpretation: in these regulations, unless the context other requires,  “electrical equipment” includes anything used or installed for us, to generate, provide,  transmit, transform, rectify, convert, conduct, distribute, control, store, measure or use  electrical energy. 

The requirement for maintenance, inspection and testing can be found in Regulation 4 (2) – As may be necessary to prevent danger, all systems shall be maintained so as to prevent, so  far as is reasonably practicable, such danger. This is further detailed in the Memorandum  of Guidance on the Electricity at Work Regulations 1989, Regulation 4(2); 8 – Regular  inspection of equipment is an essential part of any preventive maintenance programme. 9 – Records of maintenance, including test results, will enable the condition of the equipment  and the effectiveness of the maintenance to be monitored 

Due to the potential dangers of personal injury, fire and explosion resulting from faulty  electrical equipment, the Electricity at Work Regulations 1989 require virtually all  employers, irrespective of size or nature of business, to implement a programme of  maintenance, including inspection and appropriate testing of all electrical appliances.  Frequency of maintenance, inspection and testing is variable and dependent on the type of  equipment used.