The Electricity at Work Regulations 1989 apply to all workplaces and the electrical equipment used in them. They require precautions to be taken against the risk of death or personal injury from the use of electricity in work activities and commercial premises.

They impose duties in respect of:
- Systems, electrical equipment and conductors
- Competence of persons working on or near electrical equipment.

Put simply, employers and self employed people must make sure that everything that uses or carries electricity in the workplace is safe, that employees do not interfere with or abuse anything electrical that has been supplied for their use, or bring into the workplace anything electrical that is unsafe.

Employees must be instructed to report any damaged electrical equipment to their supervisors immediately and to not carry out any electrical work themselves, unless competent and authorised by the employer.

One of the most important elements of electrical safety is the need for routine visual inspections of electrical equipment. The visual checking of electrical leads to appliances, for example, should be made a part of every employee's work habits.

To achieve compliance with the regulations you need to make arrangements to make sure that any portable electrical appliances are safe to use. The items may already be high risk, i.e. electrical drills, or the danger may be increased by using them in a high risk environment such as wet conditions, like a steam pressure cleaner or electric mower. These items particularly, must be inspected by a competent person on a regular basis.

It is recommended that a record of all maintenance including test results are kept for each appliance. You may find it helpful to attach a small sticker noting the date of inspection to each piece of equipment.

Portable Electrical Appliance Testing (PAT)

The NIC EIC is the UK's consumer safety organisation and independent regulatory body for the electrical industry.
They can help specifiers and businesses ensure that electrical work is carried out safely by competent electrical contractors. They are able to assist with the requirements for the inspection and testing of electrical appliances.

More information is available on their website: http://niceic.org.uk/

Adaptors

The use of multi-way adaptors is not recommended. There should always be sufficient socket outlets provided to supply any portable appliances used. A wall socket is only designed to have sufficient strength to cater for a single plug. When an adaptor is used with a number of plugs, the combined output and its associated leverage increases the mechanical stress on the socket contact. There is the danger of an electrical overload, as electrical appliances in combination may exceed the rating of the socket outlet.

The danger of metal becoming live may be reduced by the use of a residual current device(RCD). These are designed to operate rapidly at very low leakage of currents (typically not exceeding 30mA), but cannot entirely eliminate the risk of electric shock. RCDs can only provide a useful second line of defence. They should be tested regularly, using the trip button and a record of the test kept. Minature circuit breakers (in a consumer unit), do not provide earth leakage protection.

Installation

The electrical installation must be maintained in a safe condition. This is best ensured by regular inspection of it by a competent electrician (at an interval recommended by them) and by providing a procedure for reporting any damage found. 

Further reading

The Electricity at Work Regulations 1989

Publications from the HSE:

Electricity at Work: Safe Working Practices HSG 85  ISBN: 0717607151

Maintaining portable and transportable electrical equipment HSG 107 ISBN: 0717607151

These are available from HSE Books:
PO Box 1999
Sudbury
Suffolk
CO10 2WA
Tel 01787 881165
Fax 01787 313995
www.hsebooks.co.uk