2.1 Statutory Documents

What Makes a Document Statutory?

A statutory document is one that has been enacted by Parliament (or a devolved legislature) and has the force of law. Compliance is mandatory: a breach is a criminal offence that can result in prosecution, fines, or imprisonment. For the electrical inspector, the key distinction is that statutory documents tell you what you must do to stay within the law, whereas non-statutory documents (covered in Section 2.2) tell you how to do it in practice.

Statutory vs Non-Statutory at a Glance

Following BS 7671 is a well-established way to demonstrate compliance with the Electricity at Work Regulations 1989, but BS 7671 itself remains non-statutory. This distinction is exam-critical: an inspector does not "break the law" by departing from BS 7671, but doing so makes it harder to prove that statutory duties were met.

The Key UK Statutes for Electrical Work

Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 (HASAWA)

The Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 (HASAWA) is the overarching framework for workplace safety in Great Britain. It places general duties on employers to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health, safety, and welfare of employees and others affected by their work. Employees also have duties: to take reasonable care of themselves and others, and to cooperate with the employer on safety matters.

For the inspector, HASAWA matters because inspection and testing activity itself must be carried out safely — the Act covers how you work, not just what you find. The Act also created the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), which enforces the legislation and publishes supporting guidance.

Electricity at Work Regulations 1989 (EAWR)

The Electricity at Work Regulations 1989 (EAWR) is the most directly exam-relevant statute. Made under HASAWA, EAWR applies to all electrical systems and equipment regardless of when they were designed or installed — there is no "grandfathering" of old installations. Every system, no matter its age, must meet the safety standard set by the regulations.

The regulations most relevant to inspection and testing are:

• Regulation 3 — imposes duties on the duty holder, a broad term that includes employers, employees, managers, and self-employed persons. Anyone with control of or working on an electrical system bears a duty.
• Regulation 4 — "All systems shall at all times be of such construction as to prevent, so far as is reasonably practicable, danger." This is the maintenance regulation and the statutory backbone for periodic inspection: systems must be maintained in a safe condition, which is precisely why periodic inspection and EICRs exist.
• Regulation 12 — requires that conductors be suitably insulated or protected to prevent danger. An inspector checking insulation resistance is verifying compliance with this regulation.
• Regulation 13 — sets precautions for work on equipment made dead: isolation, locking off, and proving dead before work begins. This is the regulation underpinning the safe isolation procedures every inspector must follow before conducting dead tests.
• Regulation 14 — governs work on or near live conductors. Live working is only permitted where it is unreasonable to work dead and suitable precautions are taken. Most inspection and testing should be carried out with the supply isolated; live tests such as earth fault loop impedance and prospective fault current are the exceptions, justified by the need to measure under normal operating conditions.

Electricity Safety, Quality and Continuity Regulations 2002 (ESQCR)

The Electricity Safety, Quality and Continuity Regulations 2002 (ESQCR) apply primarily to supply-side equipment — the distribution network operated by electricity distributors. While less directly relevant to a fixed-installation inspector, ESQCR defines parameters such as supply voltage tolerances, frequency, and earthing arrangements that the installation must accommodate. The supply characteristics it governs directly affect test values such as prospective fault current.

Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 (MHSWR)

The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 (MHSWR) require employers to carry out risk assessments of all work activities. For inspection and testing, this means assessing the risks of the testing process itself — the risk of electric shock, or the risk of causing a fault by using inappropriate test methods. Testing must be planned and risk-assessed, not carried out ad hoc.

Key Definitions

Duty Holder

A duty holder is any person or organisation on whom a statutory duty is imposed. Under EAWR Regulation 3, this includes employers, self-employed persons, employees, and managers — anyone who has control of an electrical system or carries out work on it. An inspector carrying out initial verification or periodic inspection is a duty holder, as is the system owner.

Competent Person

A competent person is someone with sufficient technical knowledge, training, and experience to carry out a task safely and effectively. The 2391-52 qualification is one component of demonstrating competence; practical experience and knowledge of the installation type being inspected are also essential.

So Far As Is Reasonably Practicable

This phrase appears throughout EAWR and HASAWA. It means that the risk of a hazard must be balanced against the cost, time, and trouble of eliminating it. Where the risk is high, significant measures are expected; where the risk is trivial, lesser measures may suffice. It is not an excuse for inaction — it is a requirement to do what is reasonable.

Statutes Summary Table