Laws relating to Business
and Commercial Premises
THE LAW ON ELECTRICAL APPLIANCES
LEGAL REQUIREMENTS FOR TESTING PORTABLE, TRANSPORTABLE
AND FIXED APPLIANCES
- The Electricity at Work Regulations 1989
- The Electrical Equipment (Safety) Regulations 1994
- The Consumer Protection Act 1987
All electrical appliances supplied must be safe, meaning all
appliances that are connected by means of a flexible cable,
plug and socket, hand held or fixed to the circuitry.
The only sure method of ensuring that appliances are safe is
to have them tested by a qualified person using the appropriate
calibrated Portable Appliance Test (PAT) Equipment.
These tests must be in addition to the visual safety checks
that should be carried out by the employer on a regular basis.
Business owners, Directors and their Senior Duty Holders are
directly responsible for "Duty of Care" to provide
a safe environment for employees, operators, customers and
members of the public to walk through, buy from, live in and
work at.
These regulations apply to all industrial and commercial business
premises.
Failure to comply with the Electrical Regulations may constitute a
criminal offence which could result in the maximum penalty of a £5,000
fine, closure or loss of business and/or 6 months imprisonment on summary conviction.
THE LAW ON GAS APPLIANCES
The Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations
1994 (as amended)
- A CORGI Registered Gas installer must check all gas appliances
annually. This is compulsory under the Gas Safety (Installation
and Use) Regulations 1994 (as amended).
- It is the responsibility of the Business owner, Director
and their Senior Duty Holder to arrange for these checks
to be carried out. A written report on the condition
of each appliance must be kept on site.
- Records of the safety checks and certificates should be
displayed where appropriate.
- All traders who carry out work on gas appliances must be
CORGI registered and engineers must hold the relevant ACS
certificate.
- The Health and Safety Executive enforce these regulations.
FURTHER ADVICE CAN BE OBTAINED FROM YOUR LOCAL TRADING
STANDARDS DEPARTMENT OR CONTACT THE HEALTH & SAFETY EXECUTIVE
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