The Electricity at Work Regulations 1989 (EAWR) require employers to demonstrate they have taken all reasonable steps and exercised all due diligence to ensure that those carrying out or supervising electrical work are competent to do so by possessing the necessary knowledge and experience to prevent danger or injury. Where a building owner subcontracts electrical work, they should take care to demonstrate how they have selected a contractor who satisfies the regulations.

Electrical work in the workplace can include electrical installation, maintenance and inspection and testing of new and existing installations.

The range of qualifications within the industry may cover some or all of these aspects and individuals may hold qualifications that were completed many years in the past and may not be up to date with the latest standards and regulations.

The Electrical Safety Roundtable recommends that satisfying compliance with the Government supported and industry agreed Electrotechnical Assessment Specification (EAS) is the most effective means of demonstrating due diligence in determining the competence of those working in the electrical industry.

The advantages of using EAS are:

1. The scope of certification will indicate the type of building and work that competence has been demonstrated for
2. For installation work, scope A1 has the following subcategories:
   1. Scope A1.2 covers installation work in buildings other than dwellings and is the most appropriate category for those whose workplace is non-domestic
   2. Scope A1.1 covers installation work in dwellings and should only be relied upon where the workplace is a domestic setting (such as building new dwellings or refurbishing dwellings)
3. Scope A2 covers those who carry out periodic inspection and testing of installations in dwellings (A2.1) or other buildings (A2.2)
4. EAS is satisfied by holding appropriate qualification, detailed in a list which is reviewed, maintained and published as the EAS Qualifications Guide
5. Irrespective of the age of an initial qualification, changes to the Wiring Regulations (BS 7671) will be addressed by holding a current qualification and a programme of Continuing Professional Development (CPD) will be in place
6. The provisions of EAS include a process for identifying the appropriate degree of supervision based on the risk of the job and the competence level of the worker
7. Certification against the EAS demonstrates that compliance is regularly assessed by a UKAS accredited, Government Authorised Certification Body to demonstrate ongoing compliance

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The following organisations can certify compliance with the EAS:

Important note on searching the EAS scheme registers:

• * The NAPIT search allows building types domestic, commercial or industrial to be selected
• ** For the NICEIC search, the results of the search will show Approved Contractor (all building types) and/or Domestic Installer (limited to dwellings)
• *** For the SELECT search, the results will show the work categories