Is PAT Testing a Legal Requirement? What the Law Actually Says

Ask ten business owners whether PAT testing is a legal requirement and most will say yes, every year. Ask HSE and you get a more careful answer. No regulation mentions portable appliance testing, and none sets an interval. What the law does require is that your electrical equipment is maintained so it does not cause danger. PAT testing is the recognised way of meeting that duty and proving you have. The distinction matters, because it changes what you have to do and how often.

The duty behind PAT testing

The law that matters is regulation 4(2) of the Electricity at Work Regulations 1989. It requires every electrical system to be maintained, so far as reasonably practicable, so as to prevent danger. An electrical system includes the equipment plugged into it, so the kettle, the laptop charger and the extension lead under the desk are all covered. The duty falls on employers, the self-employed and anyone with control of electrical equipment at work.

The Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 add a general requirement that work equipment is kept in an efficient state, in efficient working order and in good repair. Neither regulation says how to do it, or how often.

What HSE says

HSE is unusually direct on this. In its published answers on PAT it says the law requires an employer to ensure electrical equipment is maintained in order to prevent danger, and that it does not say how or how often. It also says that not every item needs a formal test, that many low-risk items only need a visual check, and that annual testing of everything is often more than the risk warrants.

That is a deliberate position. HSE has seen businesses spend on blanket annual testing while ignoring the damaged lead that any user could have spotted. The guidance steers towards effort where the risk is.

What "proportionate" looks like in practice

HSE's guidance for low-risk environments such as offices and shops describes three layers:

• User checks. Staff look at the plug, lead and casing before use and report damage. No record is needed.
• Formal visual inspections. Someone competent inspects each item on a schedule, looking for damage, scorching, loose covers and wrongly rated fuses. This catches most faults. Recorded.
• Combined inspection and testing. The formal inspection plus electrical tests with a portable appliance tester, for equipment where a visual check cannot show the fault, such as earthed (Class I) items. Recorded, with a label.

Higher-risk environments, such as construction sites, workshops and commercial kitchens, need the layers more often. Our guide to how often PAT testing should be done sets out typical intervals.

If it is not required by name, why do it?

Because the duty to maintain is real and the consequences of ignoring it are not theoretical. Faulty portable equipment causes workplace fires and electric shocks, and after an incident the first question is what maintenance you had in place. A dated register with results is the answer. Without one, you are relying on memory.

There are commercial reasons too. Insurers commonly ask for evidence of electrical maintenance and can question a claim without it. Landlords and managing agents ask for it at lease events. Clients ask for it when you work on their premises. A tender for a contract often asks for it. Formal PAT testing is the simplest way to produce the evidence.

Who has to do it

The employer, for equipment staff use. The self-employed, for their own equipment. A landlord, for appliances supplied with let premises. On a multi-let building the split usually follows the lease: the tenant covers equipment in their demise, the landlord covers anything in common parts. Where it is unclear, agree it in writing before someone assumes the other side has it covered. Our guide to PAT testing in offices covers the landlord and tenant split in more detail.

Getting it done

ComSurv matches you with one competent PAT testing engineer who covers your area and premises type. Tell us roughly how many appliances you have and get a no-obligation quote in about a minute.

Sources & further reading

• Electricity at Work Regulations 1989, regulation 4 — the duty to maintain electrical systems to prevent danger
• HSE: PAT, answers to popular questions — HSE on what the law does and does not require
• HSE INDG236: Maintaining portable electric equipment in low-risk environments — the risk-based approach for offices and shops
• Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998, regulation 5 — work equipment to be maintained in good repair

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