The Codes of Practice and Statutes

The IET Code of Practice

The IET Code of Practice provides guidance on in-service inspection and testing of electrical equipment to ensure safety for continued use. It emphasises the importance of risk assessment and applies to all workplaces, including rented accommodations.

The 5th edition of the Code includes updates on electrical safety management and introduces new classifications for equipment, such as Class II FE (Functional Earth). For more detailed information, you can refer to the official IET

The 5th Edition reinforces the necessity to establish and conduct appropriate safety checks, taking into account current working practices and legal requirements.

Among some of the changes in this edition are:

  • the requirements for electrical safety management
  • guidance on how to conduct a risk assessment
  • testing needed to ensure safety in continued use
  • changes to acceptable test result limits and a new hierarchy of tests
  • inclusion of ES1 and ES2 to reflect the changes to product standards
  • guidance on the new product classifications
  • updated standard references
  • revised model forms.

The core purpose of this Code of Practice is to help achieve high standards of electrical safety and it is recommended reading for all duty-holders responsible for the management of electrical equipment.

Statutory Documents

In Great Britain, the ‘law’ is the generic term for any legal rule or regulation enforced by government to regulate behaviour or activities in society and is made up of either ‘primary’ or ‘secondary’ legislation

When we look at activities we carry out in relation to the installation and testing of electrical equipment, we are governed by the following statutory documents:

  • The Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 (HASAWA)
  • The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999
  • The Electricity at Work Regulations  (EWR) 1989
  • The Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations (PUWER) 1998

You’ll see some of these commonly referred by their initials or as acronyms, these are in the brackets above. Lets have a look at each in a bit more detail:

Management Requirements

We’ve already looked at the legal framework and statutes governing electrical testing so now we’re going to dive into the management of those requirements, who does what and when.

The Legal Framework

PAT testing supports compliance with the Electricity at Work Regulations 1989 (EAWR), which require electrical equipment to be maintained in a safe condition

Non-Statutory Documents

The term ‘non-statutory’ was originally associated with common law and/or based on customs, precedents or previous court decisions.  But, in the world of electrical installations it has become common practice to use this term to describe the most reliable and informative industry reference material, such as Codes of Practice (COP), British Standards (such as BS 7671) and even Best Practice Guides, to name but a few.  Here are some of the main ones, together with a brief description:

  • BS 7671: 2008+A3:2015
  • IET’s On-Site Guide
  • IET’s Guidance Notes (1-8)
  • NICEIC’s guidance Inspection, Testing and Certification
  • GS 38 (Fourth edition) 2015  HSE guidance document

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