Licensed premises require mandatory five yearly electrical safety checks as well as portable appliance testing.
The electrical installation, including wiring, sockets and fittings within the property will need to be inspected and tested by a competent person at least every five years. On completion an Electrical Installation Condition Report (or EICR) must be provided to the owner.
Appliances that are accessible to guests will also be required to be inspected and tested which could include washing machines, tumble dryers and fridges. A report will be required to prove the safety of these appliances called a Portable Appliance Testing (PAT) Report. This needs to be undertaken every 5 years, depending on the equipment being tested as some items may require to be tested more frequently. Determining the frequency of inspection and testing is a matter of judgement by the dutyholder, and should be based on an assessment of risk. It is recommended that this is carried out as part of the general risk assessment[1]
Annex 2 sets out the suggested initial frequency for the various types of checks on portable electrical equipment. It gives suggested starting intervals when implementing a maintenance plan. Where one figure is given, this is a guide for anticipated average use conditions; more demanding conditions of use will require more frequent formal visual inspections, and/or combined inspections and tests.
1 https://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/priced/hsg107.pdf
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