M J Diffusion

The Law, the Employer and the employee

Everybody in an organisation has an obligation not only for their own heath and safety but the heath and safety of those around them. Yes, the Employers legal commitment is greater and the consequences of error more severe. The Employer as far as the law is concerned may not be the Managing Director, but will always be the Duty holder; this is anyone, employer, employee, self employed person etc who has control of an electrical system. Control in this instance means designing, installing, working with or maintaining such a system, the duty holder has a legal responsibility towards their own and others safety whilst controlling the system.

Legislation that counts

The Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 – puts a duty of care upon both Employer (sections 2,3 and 4 etc) and the employee (section 7) to ensure the safety of all persons, including the self employed, sub-contractors etc using works premises. Additionally, this applies to the self-employed in pursuit of their business.

The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 – states the following

I) The risks to the health and safety of his employees to which they are exposed whilst they are at work
II) 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”

The Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 – states the following:

“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 Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 (PUWER) cover most risks that result from using work equipment, risks from electricity would be covered assuming compliance with the Electricity at Work Regulations 1989 is achieved, specifically, PUWER regulations 5 – 9, 19 and 22.

PUWER applies to work equipment used “by workers at work” and includes all work equipment, be it fixed, portable or transportable connected to a source of electrical supply. PUWER does not apply to the fixed electrical installation, which is covered by the Electricity at Work Regulations.

Electricity at Work Regulations 1989 – States:

“As may be necessary to prevent danger, all systems shall be maintained so as to prevent, so far as is reasonably practicable, such danger”.

The code of practice makes for the mandatory inclusion of maintenance records of all portable equipment.

Regulation 29 of the Electricity at Work Act 1989 deals with “defence”. This provides a defence for the DUTY HOLDER who can establish that he or she has taken all reasonable steps and exercised all due diligence to avoid committing an offence.
System as above 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 said source and said equipment. (Regulation 2 (1))
Electrical equipment includes anything used or intended to be used or installed for use, to generate, provide, transmit, transform, rectify, convert, conduct, distribute, control, store, measure or use electrical energy.

From that, there are two important issues to highlight, firstly, the legislation covers everything from 400,000 Volts down to battery operated devices, secondly, the key word is “maintain” and the only way to manage maintenance requirements is regular inspection and testing.