The Electricity at Work Regulations 1989 are the general electrical safety law for work activities in Great Britain. They are short, they are goal-setting, and they name no document. Everything the trade sells as a certificate exists because these regulations require systems to be maintained so as to prevent danger and leave the method to whoever holds the duty.
The duty in regulation 4
All systems must be constructed so as to prevent danger so far as is reasonably practicable, and as may be necessary to prevent danger, all systems must be maintained so as to prevent danger, so far as is reasonably practicable. Work activities on or near a system must be carried out so as not to give rise to danger, and protective equipment must be suitable, maintained and properly used.
Who they bind
Employers, the self-employed and employees, in respect of work activities. That covers a shop, an office, a factory, a building site and the common parts of a block managed as a business. A private home is outside them, which is why the duties on a residential landlord come from housing law instead.
Where the EICR comes in
Nowhere by name. Periodic inspection and test is the recognised way of showing a fixed installation is being maintained, and BS 7671 provides the model report, but the interval and the method come from risk. For a rented home in England the statutory five-yearly duty comes from the 2020 Regulations rather than from these.
Where PAT testing comes in
Also nowhere by name. Regulation 4(2) is the duty that PAT testing evidences, and HSE guidance is explicit that the law does not state what needs to be done or how often. A regime built from user checks, formal visual inspection and combined inspection and test is what the guidance describes.
Scotland and Wales
The Electricity at Work Regulations apply across Great Britain. What differs by nation is the housing law layered on top: the 2020 Regulations cover England, the Renting Homes fitness regulations cover Wales, and in Scotland electrical safety sits inside the repairing standard under the Housing (Scotland) Act 2006.
Questions people ask about electricity at work regulations
Do the Electricity at Work Regulations require an EICR?
Not by name. They require systems to be maintained so as to prevent danger, and periodic inspection and test is the recognised way of demonstrating it for a fixed installation.
Is an EICR a legal requirement for a commercial property?
There is no fixed statutory interval for commercial premises. The duty to maintain applies, and the interval is set from risk and from the previous report.
Do they apply to a private home?
They apply to work activities. A landlord's duty over a rented home comes from housing law, which is where the five-yearly inspection in England comes from.
Is the position different in Scotland?
The regulations themselves apply across Great Britain. Scotland's landlord duty sits inside the repairing standard rather than in the England regulations.