Summery of legislation requiring maintenance of electrical systems and equipment :
The Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 (sections 2, 3, 4) places a duty of care on both the employer and the employee to ensure the safety of all persons using the work place
The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 state:
“Every employer shall make suitable and sufficient assessment of:
(a) the risks to the health and safety of his employees to which they are expose whilst they are at work, and
(b) the risks to the health and safety of persons not in his employment arising out of or in connection with the conduct by him of his undertaking”. (Regulation 3(1))
The Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 state:
“Every employer shall ensure that work equipment is so constructed or adapted as to be suitable for the purpose for which it is used or provided”.
The Electricity at Work Regulations 1989 (EWR) state:
“As may be necessary to prevent danger, all systems shall be maintained so as to prevent, so far as is reasonably practicable, such danger”. (Regulation 4(2))
“'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”. (Regulation 2(1))
“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”. (Regulation 2(1))
