Site news

The Löfstedt Review states the following in relation to the Electricity at Work Regulations 1989...

27. Electricity represents a genuine risk in the workplace. According to HSE about
1,000 accidents at work involving electric shock or burns are reported to them each year125. Around 30 of these are fatal.

28. However, many businesses are currently having their portable appliances,
such as kettles and microwaves, tested annually, which is both costly and of questionable value. Furthermore, it has been indicated that businesses are going further and applying testing to all electrical equipment, not just to items that are truly portable.

29. This is an example of a regulation that is being applied too widely and disproportionately. There is no specific requirement in the Electricity of Work Regulations 1989 for portable appliances to be tested annually. HSE’s guidance ‘Maintaining portable electric equipment in offices and other low-risk environments’126, reissued in April 2011, seeks to reinforce this. But more needs to be done because respondents to the call for evidence and the RTC still identified this as an issue of concern, whilst others recognised that the misunderstanding had arisen from the guidance rather than the regulation.

I therefore recommend that HSE further clarifies the requirement for portable appliance testing (including through changes to the wording of regulations if necessary) by April 2012 to stop over-compliance and ensure that these messages reach all appropriate stakeholder groups.

...You can view the complete report at the following address: http://www.dwp.gov.uk/docs/lofstedt-report.pdf