A contractor tests every plug once a year, adds green labels and leaves. That may be useful, but it is not the legal duty and it does not control damage arising the next day. North East employers need an electrical maintenance system that reflects the equipment, its use, the environment and the faults actually found.
The law requires maintenance, not annual PAT testing
The Electricity at Work Regulations 1989 require electrical systems to be maintained, so far as reasonably practicable, to prevent danger. HSE confirms that the Regulations do not prescribe a portable appliance test, an annual interval, a particular contractor or a green sticker. PAT is a common term for examination of electrical appliances; it can form part of a suitable maintenance system where the risk justifies it.
Equipment with the potential to cause injury must remain safe between formal visits. Decide what users check, which items need formal visual inspection or combined testing, how often each step occurs and what happens when a defect is found.
Do not confuse 'PAT tested' with a certificate for the complete workplace. A portable-equipment programme does not automatically cover fixed wiring, distribution boards, sockets, hard-wired equipment, safe isolation, suitability for the task or how extension leads are being used.
HSE answers to PAT testing questions ↗ · Electricity at Work Regulations 1989 ↗
Start with a useful electrical equipment inventory
List equipment by type and location, but include more than kettles and computers. Extension leads, detachable power cables, chargers, floor cleaners, workshop tools, portable heaters, catering appliances and equipment used by visitors or customers may have very different damage profiles. Include items brought in by workers, hired or borrowed equipment and equipment used away from the main site.
For each group, record its construction, movement, use and conditions. A desktop monitor in a dry office is not exposed like a pressure washer, extension lead or garage grinder. Equipment used outdoors, in damp or dusty areas, around earthed metalwork or by the public normally needs closer control.
Keep fixed installations on the same management map but under an appropriate inspection arrangement. HSE says fixed wiring should be inspected and tested to minimise deterioration leading to danger, normally by a competent person such as an electrician. A PAT contractor checking plugs does not replace that work.
Make user checks quick, clear and actionable
Many dangerous faults are visible. Users should know to look for a cracked plug, loose cable grip, exposed inner wires, damaged connector, taped cable, broken casing, scorching, staining, unusual heat, smell or operation. They should also notice cables trapped under furniture, routed across traffic areas or stretched to reach a socket.
The instruction must be unambiguous: switch off and unplug where safe, stop using suspect equipment, prevent somebody else reconnecting it and report it. A sticker saying 'failed' is not enough if the item remains beside the workstation. Use a quarantine location, clear identification and an authorised route for repair, disposal or return to the owner.
Users should not remove covers, rewire plugs or diagnose faults unless they are competent and authorised. A simple check is deliberately limited. If there is doubt, keep the equipment out of service until a competent person decides it is safe.
Set inspection and test intervals from risk
HSE provides suggested initial frequencies, but these are guidance benchmarks rather than statutory expiry dates. A construction tool or heavily used floor cleaner may need frequent checks, inspection and testing. Stable information-technology equipment in a low-risk office may need much less attention, and some double-insulated equipment may not need combined testing.
Set the first interval using the equipment type, movement, environment, manufacturer information and foreseeable abuse. Shorten it when inspections find deterioration, faults repeat or conditions become harsher. Consider extending it when competent inspections consistently find no defects and risk remains low.
Do not reset every item to the same twelve-month date for convenience. Group similar equipment, but preserve material differences. Include checks following damage, repair, modification, prolonged storage or relocation where safety may be affected.
HSE guidance for portable equipment in low-risk workplaces ↗
Build an inspection schedule around the real risk.
HR + SAFETY can review your equipment groups, fault history, workplace conditions and current contractor scope to set a practical maintenance system.
Discuss an electrical equipment reviewMatch competence to the task
A trained employee can carry out user checks. In a low-risk setting, somebody with suitable knowledge may also complete formal visual inspections. Combined inspection and testing needs greater experience, correct equipment and the ability to interpret results.
The person must understand the equipment and test limits, not merely operate a tester. Confirm what the inspection covers, how failures and repairs are controlled and when an electrician is required. Complex installation work, fault finding and modification demand higher competence.
Give external contractors an accurate inventory and workplace context. Check their scope, and retain ownership of missed equipment, defect action and interval review.
Treat labels and records as controls, not proof
HSE says there is no specific legal requirement to label portable equipment or retain PAT records. Both remain useful management tools. A register can show the item, location, check, result, defect, action, next review and person responsible.
A green pass label records a result at one point in time. It cannot show that a cable was damaged later, the appliance is suitable for a wet task or a multiway adaptor is not overloaded. Train workers to report current condition rather than trusting an in-date sticker over visible damage.
New equipment should normally arrive safe and does not automatically require formal PAT before use. HSE recommends a simple visual check for damage. Second-hand, returned, repaired, hired or personally owned equipment may justify a different check before use, depending on its history and risk.
Control the wider electrical and fire risks
Check that equipment suits the task, voltage, supply and conditions. Damp, conductive or confined environments can increase shock risk. Reduced-voltage, battery or air-powered equipment may be safer for some work. A suitable RCD can provide valuable additional protection, particularly outdoors or in wet conditions, but HSE stresses that it does not protect against every type of electric shock and does not replace safe isolation or primary controls.
Overloaded sockets, unfused adaptors, damaged wiring, overheating equipment and unsuitable chargers can also create fire risk. When equipment, charging arrangements, layout, occupancy or electrical installation changes the fire hazard, review and update the statutory fire risk assessment. Feed the electrical findings into fire precautions, emergency arrangements, housekeeping, isolation and training.
Where flammable gases, vapours, mists or combustible dusts could form an explosive atmosphere, ordinary portable-equipment checks are inadequate. Complete a suitable DSEAR assessment, select equipment appropriate for the hazardous area and incorporate those findings into the main fire risk assessment and operating controls. Higher-consequence settings and premises used by vulnerable people may need tighter supervision, faster defect response and more resilient arrangements.
Related guide: workplace fire evacuation planning → · HSE guidance on dangerous substances and explosive atmospheres ↗
Ten-point electrical equipment checklist
Walk through the system using one damaged extension lead. Would a worker recognise the defect, stop its use, prevent reconnection, record the action and know who may authorise its return? If not, another round of green stickers will not close the gap.
- Inventory portable, movable, hired, personal and fixed electrical equipment.
- Group items by construction, use, movement, environment and damage risk.
- Define simple user checks and the faults that require immediate withdrawal.
- Provide a secure quarantine and authorised repair or disposal process.
- Set risk-based formal visual-inspection and testing intervals.
- Review intervals using fault, repair and inspection history.
- Match competence and test equipment to the work being completed.
- Keep fixed-wiring inspection separate from portable-equipment testing.
- Review the fire risk assessment when electrical fire hazards change.
- Track defects to verified repair, disposal or safe return to service.
Effective PAT management is a risk-based maintenance system, not an annual sticker exercise. Combine user checks, competent inspection and testing, fixed-installation controls and prompt defect action so equipment remains safe between visits.
This guide provides general information for UK employers. It is not legal advice and should not replace advice based on the facts of a specific matter.