The Legislation

The Legislation

PAT Testing is regulated by the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005 in Ireland. The primary focus of this Act is the prevention of deaths and injury in the workplace.

This legislation is implemented under Statutory Instrument S.I. No. 299 of 2007 which came into force in November 2007.

Companies, and their directors and managers, have a duty of care to ensure that their electrical appliances do not pose a threat to the health and safety of employees, customers, and to the public who may come into contact with those appliances.

This requirement is now covered by legislation effective November 2007 under Statutory Instrument S.I. 299 (2007). This is the General Application Regulation covering the new legislation under the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act that came into force in September 2005 with the introduction of the Commencement Order S.I. 328 (2005).

Under this new legislation the obligations under that duty of care have been spelled out in more detail and the penalties for defaulting have become greater including substantial fines and prison sentences for directors and managers of offending companies.

In addition the Health and Safety Authority is now taking a more active role in the promotion of the requirements that this places on businesses and their directors/managers and a much more active role in compliance and enforcement.

Many companies in Ireland, even those with well established and operated Health and Safety Policies and well exercised Corporate Social Responsibility Policies have been slow to implement routine Portable Appliance Testing. This situation is now changing, not only for reasons of enforcement by the Health and Safety Authority, but also as part of the company’s own risk management procedures. This is being driven in some cases by best practice and also by the need to implement adequate systems for the attainment of quality marks and compliance with accepted standards and is now also becoming an issue for Insurance Companies in relation to their risk assessment and in determining premium levels.

Electrical failures are now the most common cause of fires both in the commercial and domestic arenas and some Fire Services are now actively promoting awarness of the part non-compliant and unsafe Portable Appliances regularly play in starting fires.     

S.I. No. 299

The relevant extracts from the sections in S.I. No. 299 (2007) that apply to PAT testing are as follows: Section 81 - Portable Equipment

(1)(b) portable equipment is maintained in a manner fit for safe use
(1)(c)portable equipment which is (i)exposed to conditions causing deterioration liable to result in a danger is
(1)(c)(II)periodically inspected by a competent person appropriate to the nature, location and use of the equipment

(2) An employer shall ensure, where appropriate, that a competent person-
(a) tests any equipment specified and
(b) certifies whether or not the portable equipment, including any cables and plugs, was on the day of test as far as could reasonably be ascertained safe and without risk to persons coming into direct contact with any live part of the equipment

NOTE Inspection and Maintenance of Portable Equipment 110V

Portable electrical equipment supplied at a voltage less than 125V AC such as the majority of electrical equipment used during construction activities is not specifically included in Regulation 81 but must be maintained in a manner fit for safe use and should be subject to an appropriate inspection regime by employers to ensure that this is the case

Section 30 Inspection of Work equipment

An employer shall ensure that:
(b) In the case of work equipment which is exposed to conditions causing deterioration liable to result in a danger to safety and health
(i) periodic inspections and where appropriate testing is carried out
(ii) special inspections are carried out when exceptional circumstances arise which are liable to make the work equipment unsafe, including modification work, accidents, natural phenomena or prolonged inactivity; and
(iii) deterioration is detected and remedied in good time
(c) inspections carried out under para (b) are carried out by a competent person and are appropriate to the nature location and use of the work equipment
(d)The results of inspections carried out under paragraphs (b) are recorded and kept available for five years from the date of inspection, for inspection by an inspector, and access to these records is made available to users of the work equipment upon request and
(e) when work equipment is used in another place of work, it is accompanied by evidence of the last inspection carried out under paragraph (b)

Electrical failures are now the most common cause of fires both in the commercial and domestic arenas and some Fire Services are now actively promoting awarness of the part non-compliant and unsafe Portable Appliances regularly play in starting fires.     

Safety Health and Welfare at Work Act (2005)

The Legislation states: PART 2; General Duties;

8.2 …the employer’s duty extends, in particular to the following:….(d) ensuring , so far as is reasonably practicable, the safety and the prevention of risk to health at work of his or her employees relating to the use of any article…(h) determining and implementing the safety, health and welfare measures necessary for the protection of his or her employees when identifying hazards and carrying out risk assessment…or when preparing a safety statement.. (l) obtaining, where necessary, the services of a competent person (whether under contract of employment or otherwise) for the purpose of ensuring, so far as is reasonably practicable, the safety, health and welfare at work of his or her employees.

12.0 Every employer shall manage and conduct his or her undertakings in such a way as to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, that in the course of the work being carried on, individuals at the place of work ( not being his or her employees ) are not exposed to risks to their safety, health or welfare.

18.1 …an employer shall, for the purposes of complying with the relevant statutory provisions, appoint one or more competent persons to perform such functions as are specified by the employer, relating to the protection from and the prevention of risks to safety, health and welfare at work.

PART 3; Protective and Preventive Measures;
19.1 Every employer shall identify the hazards in the place of work under his or her control, assess the risks presented by those hazards, and be in possession of a written assessment (to be known and referred to in this Act as the ”risk assessment”…

PART 6: Obtaining and Disclosure of Information
72.1 The Authority…..may....require the person to give to the Authority within such period and in such form as may be specified…any information….that the Authority…may reasonably require

PART 7: Offences and Penalties
78.2 A person guilty of an offence…is liable…(i) on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding €3000 or imprisonment not exceeding 6 months or both…(ii) on conviction on indictment to a fine not exceeding €3,000,000 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 2 years or both.

80.1 Where an offence under any of the relevant statutory provisions has been committed by…a person, being a director, manager or similar officer of the undertaking…that person as well as the undertaking shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable to be proceeded against and punished as if he or she were guilty of the …offence.

SCHEDULE 3: General Principles of Prevention

1. The avoidance of risks
2. The evaluation of unavoidable risks
6. The replacement of dangerous articles…
Note: Risk Assessment Responsibility

Your Safety Statement will be informed by Risk Assessment and will be based on the identification and assessment of all hazards in the workplace. PAT testing is the only practicable way to identify potential hazards from faulty in-service electrical appliances. It should be good working practice when conducting risk assessment in relation to in-service electrical appliances, to include PAT testing so as to ensure that you are fully compliant and that your workplace is safe for employees, customers and the public.