The Electricity at Work Regulations 1989 — What Trades Need to Know (2026)

Who the Regulations Apply To

The EAWR are made under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, which means they carry the full force of criminal law. They place duties on three groups: employers, employees and the self-employed. If you run a trade business, you are a duty holder for the systems and equipment you control. If you work for someone else, you are also a duty holder for the parts of the system within your control and for your own conduct.

The phrase that matters is "so far as is reasonably practicable". Most duties under the EAWR are qualified by this test — you must weigh the risk against the cost, time and trouble of controlling it. A few duties, however, are absolute and must be met regardless of cost. Knowing which is which is part of being competent.

Crucially, the regulations apply to all electrical systems regardless of voltage — there is no lower limit below which they stop applying. A 12V system can still cause an arc, a fire or a burn, so the duties bite on extra-low voltage installations as well as mains and high-voltage work.

The Key Duties

The EAWR run to a relatively small number of regulations, but several of them define the day-to-day discipline of safe electrical work. These are the ones every trade should understand.

Regulation 4 — Systems, Work Activities and Protective Equipment

Regulation 4 is the cornerstone. It requires that all electrical systems are constructed and maintained so as to prevent danger, so far as is reasonably practicable. It also requires that work activities — including operation, use and maintenance — are carried out so as not to give rise to danger, and that any protective equipment provided is suitable, maintained and properly used. "Maintained" is the word that drives inspection and testing regimes: a system that was safe when installed must be kept safe over its life.

Strength, Capability and Excess Current

Several regulations deal with the physical fitness of equipment. Electrical equipment must be of sufficient strength and capability for the conditions it will face — mechanical, thermal and electrical. Conductors must be insulated or otherwise protected, and there must be protection against excess current (overload and fault current) so that overheating and fire are prevented. In practice this means correctly rated cables, fuses and protective devices, and not pushing equipment beyond its design limits.

Regulation 12 — Cutting Off Supply and Isolation

Regulation 12 requires suitable means for cutting off the supply of electrical energy to any equipment, and for the isolation of that equipment. Isolation here has a precise meaning: disconnecting and separating the equipment from every source of supply, in a secure way, so it cannot be reconnected by accident. This is the regulation that underpins the discipline of locking off — without a reliable means of isolation, dead working is not possible.

Regulation 13 — Working Dead

Regulation 13 requires precautions to be taken for work on equipment made dead. It is not enough to switch something off — you must take adequate precautions to prevent equipment that has been made dead from becoming live again while work is in progress. This is where safe isolation procedure, lock-off devices, warning labels and proving dead with an approved voltage indicator all come together. Working dead is the default expectation; live working is the exception.

Regulation 14 — Working Live

Regulation 14 sets the strict conditions under which anyone may work on or near a live conductor. All three of the following must be satisfied:

• It is unreasonable in all the circumstances for the conductor to be dead; and
• It is reasonable in all the circumstances for the person to be at work on or near it while it is live; and
• Suitable precautions (including the provision of suitable protective equipment) are taken to prevent injury.

All three tests must be met — live working is never simply a matter of convenience or saving time. "Testing requires it to be live" can justify live work for fault-finding and commissioning, but routine alteration and repair should be done dead. If in doubt, isolate.

Regulation 16 — Competence

Regulation 16 requires that no person is engaged in any work activity where technical knowledge or experience is necessary to prevent danger or injury, unless they possess that knowledge or experience, or are under appropriate supervision. "Competence" combines knowledge, skill, experience and an understanding of one's own limitations. It is not the same as holding a single qualification — a card or certificate is evidence of competence, not a substitute for it. For trades outside the electrical disciplines, competence may mean knowing when to stop and call in an electrician.

How This Links to Safe Isolation and Maintenance

The regulations are written in general terms, but they translate into very specific routines on site. The single most important practical skill is safe isolation: identify the circuit, isolate it, lock off the means of isolation with a personal padlock, post a warning notice, and prove the circuit dead using an approved voltage indicator that has itself been proved against a known source before and after. Skipping any step is how people die.

The maintenance duty in Regulation 4 is what drives ongoing inspection and testing. There is no fixed legal interval — the requirement is to maintain so as to prevent danger — but two regimes are the practical answer:

• Fixed wiring (EICR): periodic inspection and testing of the fixed installation, recorded on an Electrical Installation Condition Report. Recommended intervals depend on the type of installation (for example, more frequent for rented dwellings and commercial premises).
• Portable appliances (PAT / in-service inspection): a combination of user checks, formal visual inspection and, where appropriate, combined inspection and testing of movable equipment, on a risk-based schedule rather than a blanket annual rule.

Keeping the records is as important as doing the work. If the HSE asks how you discharged the maintenance duty, your inspection certificates and test records are the evidence.

EAWR vs BS 7671 — Law vs Guidance

One of the most common points of confusion is the difference between the EAWR and BS 7671. The distinction matters because it determines what is legally binding.

The Electricity at Work Regulations 1989 are statutory law. Breaching them is a criminal offence. BS 7671 — the IET Wiring Regulations — is a British Standard. It is non-statutory: it is not law in itself, and you cannot be prosecuted simply for departing from a clause of BS 7671. What BS 7671 provides is a recognised way to demonstrate that you have met the legal requirements of the EAWR. Installing and testing to BS 7671 is the accepted route to showing that a system is constructed and maintained to prevent danger.

Put simply: the law tells you the outcome you must achieve (no danger); BS 7671 tells you a tried-and-tested way to achieve it. If you deviate from BS 7671, you must be able to show you achieved an equivalent or better level of safety. For most trades, following BS 7671 and issuing the appropriate certificate is the cleanest evidence of compliance.

Consequences of Breaches

The EAWR are enforced by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and, in some workplaces, local authorities. Enforcement powers escalate with the seriousness of the failing:

• Improvement notices requiring a breach to be put right within a set period.
• Prohibition notices stopping a dangerous activity immediately.
• Prosecution in the criminal courts, which can result in unlimited fines and, for the most serious cases, imprisonment for individuals.
• Fee for Intervention — where the HSE finds a material breach, it can recover the cost of its time investigating and putting it right.

Beyond the legal penalties, an electrical incident can mean serious injury or death, invalidated insurance, civil claims and lasting reputational damage. For a small trade business, a single prosecution can be terminal. The cost of doing the job safely is always lower than the cost of getting it wrong.

Duties & Compliance Checklist

The Bottom Line for Trades

You do not need to be an electrician for the EAWR to apply to you — you need only work on, near or with electrical systems. The duties come down to a few disciplines: only work within your competence, isolate and prove dead before you touch anything, treat live working as a rare and justified exception, keep equipment fit and protected, and maintain a paper trail through certificates and inspection records. Follow BS 7671 where it applies and you have a clear route to demonstrating compliance with the law. Do these things consistently and the regulations stop being a worry and become simply how the work is done.

This article is general guidance for UK trades and does not constitute legal advice. Always refer to the current text of the regulations and seek competent professional advice for your specific circumstances.