An employer’s guide to PAT Testing

PAT Testing is a series of electrical and visual inspections that determine the equipment is safe to use by your employees.

No matter the type or size of your business, you’ll most likely have some portable equipment that will need to be routinely PAT Tested. The equipment can range from small electrical appliances like laptops, phones, kettles, toasters, etc. to larger items like printers and photocopiers.

Although your built-in appliances like boilers, dishwashers, hand-dryers etc aren’t portable, they still need to be tested to make sure they’re safe to use but this comes under Electrical Equipment Testing (EET) which requires a different set of skills to carry out these types of inspections.

As a rule of thumb, anything that isn’t permanently wired into your electrical system must be PAT Tested.

Managing your electrical equipment isn’t a responsibility you can ignore. In fact, you’re legally required by the Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 and the Electricity at Work Regulations 1998 to make sure that any potential risks in work are assessed and properly managed, including your portable electrical equipment.

When determining how often your business needs to carry out its PAT Testing, you firstly need to assess the industry your business falls under, the type of electrical equipment that needs PAT Testing, and how often the equipment’s handled.

Once this has been established, you need to check which ‘class’ your appliances fall under:

• Class 1 appliances. Does it have basic insulation? Does it rely on an earth for protection? Examples include refrigerators, microwaves, and toasters.
• Class 2 appliances. Does it have two layers of insulation and therefore need a PAT Insulation Test? Examples include computers, photocopiers, and most plastic power tools.
• Class 3 appliances don’t need to be PAT Tested at all because they require a lower level of voltage. Examples include torches, cameras, and mobile phone chargers.

To make sure you’re properly prepared prior to your PAT Test, you’ll need to carry out a visual inspection on all your electrical equipment. Things to look out for include:

• damage to cables and plugs
• evidence of unsuitable operating conditions e.g., the presence of water
• damage or faults to the equipment
• evidence of overheating or discolouration
• problems arising from the equipment in use

When it comes to carrying out the PAT Test, a qualified engineer will firstly check the equipment visually and they’ll then test its operation using their own testing equipment.

Whether you have an employee who’s able to conduct a PAT Test or need to outsource a safety compliance company, it’s important they have all the right credentials. As well as having qualifications and training under their belt, they’ll also need to have:

• In-depth knowledge and experience in carrying out PAT Testing
• The correct equipment to conduct the checks
• Experience using the testing equipment
• The ability to interpret the test results

If one of your electrical appliances fails its PAT Test, that means it’s unsafe to use in its current condition, so you’ll need clarity on why it’s failed. If the item needs small repairs such as fuse replacements or loose wiring, this can be fixed on the spot, but larger repairs will probably need more attention.

A huge part of maintaining electrical safety in the workplace is record-keeping so to keep your records straight, your equipment needs to be labelled properly. Each tested appliance should be labelled with the date it was last PAT Tested and if it passed or failed. If labelled correctly, the duty holder can then decide when the appliance is due its next PAT Test.