The main piece of legisaltion covering health
and safety in the United Kingdom is the Health
& Safety at Work (etc) Act 1974.
This act is still the most important piece of
safety legislation in force today.
The
Health & Safety at Work Act 1974 puts the
duty of care upon both the employer and the employee
to ensure the safety of all persons using the
work premises. This includes the self employed.
The
requirements of the act are quite general, and
so regulations have been passed more recently,
which give more specific detail about certain
areas.The regulations carry the full weight of
the health and safety at work act, including provisions
for prosecution and punishment.
Of
the many sets of regulations, some have specific
relevance electrical safety, including:-
-
Management of Health & Safety at Work Regulations
1999,
- Electricity
at Work Regulations 1989,
-
Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations
1992
- Provision
and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998
The
Management of Health & Safety at Work Regulations
1999 states:
"Every
employer shall make suitable and sufficient assessment
of:
-
the risks to the health and safety of his employees
to which they are exposed whilst at work, and
-
the risks to ensure the health and safety of
persons not in his employment arising out of
or in connection with the conduct by him or
his undertaking."
The
Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations
(PUWER) 1998 state:-
- "Every
employer shall ensure that work equipment is
maintained in an efficient state, in efficient
working order and in good repair."
The
PUWER 1998 covers most risks that can result from
using work equipment. With respect to risks from
electricity, compliance with the Electricity at
Work Regulations 1989 is likely to achieve compliance
with the PUWER 1998.
PUWER
1998 only applies to work equipment used by workers
at work. This includes all work equipment (fixed,
transportable or portable) connected to a source
of electrical energy. PUWER does not apply to
fixed installations in a building. The electrical
safety of these installations is dealt with only
by the Electricity at Work Regulations.
The
Electricity at Work Regulations 1989 states:
- "All
systems shall at all times be of such construction
as to prevent, so far as reasonably practicable,
such danger."
- "As
may be necessary to prevent danger, all systems
shall be maintained so as to prevent, so far
as reasonably practicable, such danger."
"'System'
means an electrical system in which all the electrical
equipment is, or may be, electrically connected
to a common source of electrical energy and includes
such source and such equipment"
"'Electrical
Equipment' includes anything used, intended to
be used or installed for use, to generate, provide,
transmit, transform, rectify, convert, conduct,
distribute, control, store, measure or use electrical
energy."
Scope
of the legislation
It
is clear that the combination of the HSW Act 1974,
the PUWER 1998 and the EAW Regulations 1989 apply
to all electrical equipment used in, or associated
with, places of work. The scope extends from distribution
systems down to the smallest piece of electrical
equipment.
Although
it will be seen that there is no specific requirement
to carry out pat testing, it is clear that pat
testing is the most effective way to satisfy the
legal requirement for systems to be 'maintained
so as to prevent ... danger.'
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