Factfiles

Portable appliance testing (PAT testing)

A health and safety briefing provided by the IET.

The UK Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 (PUWER) states at Regulation 4(1): “Every employer shall ensure that work equipment is so constructed or adopted as to be suitable for the purpose for which it is used or provided.”

The Electricity at Work Regulations 1989 states at Regulation 4(2): “As may be necessary to prevent danger, all systems shall be maintained so as to prevent so far as reasonably practicable, such danger.”
This means that employers (and the self-employed) must ensure that all electrical work equipment is safe, suitable for the purpose and properly maintained in good order.