1. The Electricity at Work Regulations 1989 (EAW Regulations) came into force on 1 April 1990. This circular aims to highlight the key issues on inspection and enforcement for inspectors. It is not comprehensive.
2. Practical guidance on the regulations is given in the Memorandum of guidance on the Electricity at Work Regulations 1989 HS(R)25 which should be read in conjunction with this circular.
3. An Open Learning Course on the Electricity at Work Regulations 1989 is available from HMSO bookshops - ISBN 0 11 8854437. The Open Learning Course was written with the training needs of LA inspectors in mind. Other persons who may have duties under the regulations may also find it useful.
4. A number of references are made in this circular to the use of an "expert". Where LAs do not have their own experts, assistance from HSE's Electrical Specialist Inspectors may be requested via the ELO in the usual way. Where expert assistance is required in the investigation of a reportable incident involving electricity, the Electrical Specialist should normally be involved at the earliest opportunity.
5 (1) The majority of the regulations are directed at hardware requirements. Installations are required to be of proper construction; conductors must be insulated or other precautions taken; there must be means of cutting off the power and means for electrical isolation. The hardware requirements are complemented by a group of regulations stating principles of safe working practice. Regulation 14, which covers live working, is of particular importance.
(2) The scope of the EAW Regulations is limited by the definition of danger and injury solely to risks arising from an electrical source and does not include, for example, control-system faults and consequent hazards such as aberrant machinery behaviour.
(3) The EAW Regulations revoke a number of specific regulations, but a number remain which either overlap or appear to overlap, for example
(i) the Electricity Supply Regulations 1988 (as amended): see the introduction to the Memorandum of guidance.
(ii) the Low Voltage Electrical Equipment (Safety) Regulations 1988 (made under the Consumer Protection Act 1987);
(iii) the Building Standards (Scotland) Regulations 1981: these give deemed to satisfy status to the Institution of Electrical Engineers Wiring Regulations; and
(iv) the Cinematographic (Safety) Regulations, 1955.
If demarcation between these sets of regulations and the EAW Regulations is unclear in a particular case, then details should be passed to HSE, via the Enforcement Liaison Officer.
(4) Appendices 1 and 2 of the Memorandum of guidance list publications relating to electrical safety.
6. (1) There is no expectation that inspectors should change their general approach to enforcement. However, particular attention should be paid to the enforcement of reg 14. (Work on, or near, live conductors).
(2) In situations where the 1908 Regulations previously applied or where HSW Act was used, inspectors should now enforce the EAW Regulations.
(3) There should be no difference in enforcement between situations in which no specific regulations previously applied and those which were regulated.
(4) Nothing is required by the EAW Regulations which is not already the norm in the best undertakings.
(5) The EAW Regulations will apply to electrical work in domestic premises. Such work will fall to HSE to enforce.
(6) Expert assistance to prove the presence of electricity should not be necessary when contemplating enforcement action. Circumstantial evidence should suffice to indicate that electricity is present and that the EAW Regulations apply. Such evidence could include:
(i) that the equipment carried a plate indicating that it worked at mains voltage;
(ii) that the equipment was connected to a supply via a 3-pin plug;
(iii) that the premises were supplied with electricity for lighting which was working; and
(iv) that a person on the premises paid an electricity bill.
In court, an expert witness should be able to use such evidence to express a professional opinion as to the dangers which were present or likely to occur.
(7) It may also be possible to use an on-site electrician to measure voltages and use his or her measurements in evidence.
(8) An improvement notice may be appropriate it conductors are inadequately protected against damage; for example, not routed through conduit, tubing or armouring in premises where the risk of physical damage is apparent. In particularly arduous conditions, eg construction work, stronger action may be considered.
(9) Exposed and accessible live conductors or a lack of earthing could justify a prohibition notice. Lack of earthing can only be proved by measurement; simple observation is never adequate.
7 (1) The definitions of danger and injury are linked but distinguished to accommodate those circumstances when persons must work on or so near live equipment that there is a risk of injury, ie where danger is present and cannot be prevented.
(2) Danger includes danger to the public.
(3) The definition of electrical equipment excludes items which only generate electricity adventitiously, eg as static.
(4) Earthing and isolation are defined in regs.8 and 12 respectively.
8. (1) Regulation 3 imposes duties only on employers, employees, the self-employed, and mine or quarry managers. In other cases HSW Act ss.3 and 4 will apply.
(2) All duties are limited by the phrase "to matters which are within his control", apart from reg.3(2)(a) which is similar to HSW Act, s.7(b). Some large industries tend to produce written rules which clearly define the extent of an individual's control but it will often be the case that there is overlapping liability where several individuals and/or bodies corporate are duty holders.
9. (1) Regulation 4 acts as a catch-all requirement.
(2) Due to the broad definition of system (reg 2), reg 4 covers almost every conceivable electrical danger: from an exploding lithium battery in a calculator to the output side of a power station.
(3) Systems in vehicles are covered by reg 4, but note should be taken of reg 32 in relation to ships, aircraft and hovercraft.
(4) Regulation 4(3) embraces all work which could lead to electrical danger, although such work may not be associated with an electrical system. This would include work in the vicinity of electrical equipment and insulated or uninsulated conductors. The requirement does not limit proximity to conductors, live or dead, but rather regulates the work activity so as not to give rise to danger.
(5) Regulation 4(3) is almost always applicable to work on or near underground cables, in which situations the standards of the Construction (GP) Regulations, reg 44 should be maintained, viz electrical isolation by disconnection and secure separation from sources of electrical supply. However, reg 14 should be used if there has been a failure to switch off the supply to such cables before undertaking work. That said, the circumstances of each case will dictate which regulation should be used.
(6) The duties in reg 4(4) are not qualified by "so far as is reasonably practicable' and link with reg 14(c) ensuring that protective equipment provided is always suitable for the purpose.
10. (1) The assigned rating of electrical equipment represents the extent to may be used in an assessment of the adequacy of equipment strength and capability in foreseeable conditions of actual use; but may not necessarily represent all factors to be considered. A technical judgement by a competent person will often be needed to determine adequacy.
(2) If a failure has occurred it may be relatively easy to prove a contravention. However, expert support will be required except where a deficiency is obvious and requires no technical proof.
11. (1) Regulation 6 addresses extrinsic effects which are reasonably foreseeable. For example, in order to prove a contravention of reg.6, it is not necessary to show that electrical equipment is or has been exposed to a flammable atmosphere, but only that it is foreseeable that it could be so exposed.
(2) The Memorandum of guidance gives general advice on the different hazardous environments covered by reg 6, and makes reference to relevant standards and publications.
12. (1) This regulation is an example of where the EAW Regulations extend protection to anyone exposed to electrical danger from electrical equipment, including those not at work.
13. (1) This regulation applies to any conductor and not just to metal. It also allows other suitable means of preventing danger as an alternative to earthing.
(2) The duty to prevent danger arising is activated only when a relevant conductor becomes charged.
(3) Regulation 4 requires that systems are constructed so as to prevent danger; but in the event that danger arises because a conductor which should be earthed is not, reg.8 also becomes relevant.
(4) As regards adequate earthing, the use of a conductor with a small cross-sectional area, which is not capable of carrying a heavy current for the duration of the fault, is not acceptable.
(5) Inspectors should continue to press for the use of reduced voltage lighting and power tools, eg 110v centre tapped to earth in the working environments described in para 19 of the Memorandum of Guidance leg construction work).
