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Portable Appliance Testing (PAT) - Working at Home or Remote Locations - Request for Help

John Beirne

Portable Appliance Testing (PAT) - Working at Home or From Remote Locations



Not withstanding the fact that there is no legal requirement to undertake Portable Appliance Testing, there is a myriad of regulations which a Duty Holder/organisation is to adhere to to ensure that their electrical equipment is safe and officially legal to be used.



The IET has been asked by a government agency to look at how other corporate members, in particular large organisations, are approaching Portable Appliance Testing for their staff who continue to work from home.  Therefore, we would be extremely grateful if you would assist our investigation by answering the following questions:



1.  Are you currently working from home? Yes / No


2.  Are you using your firms electronic portable equipment? Yes / No


3.  Has it undergone a Portable Appliance Test? Yes / No / Not Sure

 


a.  Is there a Portable Appliance Testing sticker on the equipment? Yes / No

 


b.  Does the sticker have a Valid Until Date? Yes / No

 


c.  If yes, is the date valid? Yes / No



Use of Personal Electronic Equipment at Home for Work Purpose.



1.  Are you using your personal electronic portable equipment for your firms activities? Yes / No



2.  Has it undergone a Portable Appliance Test? Yes / No



Please do not inform us who you work for.



In anticipation, thank you for your assistance.



Kind regards,



John


Parents
  • 0
    I am well out of date on the current legislation regarding workplace safety but in the good old days when the screen display legislation, I forget the exact name, was implemented if you worked from home you needed to be equipped to the same standard as you would in the office.


    I cannot imagine that the current legislation is any more relaxed.


    At the time the legislation required that all workstations be accessed to ensure adequate seating, equipment and lighting. I cannot imagine that giving an employee a portable computer and expecting them to use it on the dining room table would meet any of the criteria. I can imagine that in a few years if adequate workstations are not implemented for home working there will be a raft of claims from employees with bad backs, RSI and poor eyesight. 


    I say all the above while suffering from a bad back, RSI  and poor eyesight but having worked for a whole variety of companies, including being self employed, over the years before the workplace legislation was implemented ,I think I would find it difficult to get any money from anyone. 


    As an aside: with so many people saying home working is more productive and there is no reason for people to return to offices why are so many companies unable to cope with normal business effectively. I do not mean the companies handling goods etc but those offering a service. It recently took me over 20 minutes to register a credit card as lost, if it had been stolen how much could have been spent in that time? My wife tried to register for online banking for a charity she is treasurer of, the first two times, over 30 minutes waiting on the phone each time, she received an email with a reference number and saying her application was being processed. When she chased after a couple of weeks they had not received her application and did not have any record of the reference number. On the third occasion having got the trustees to fill in all the forms she chased again and after 40 minutes was told that they did not do online banking for charities with two signatures required.


Reply
  • 0
    I am well out of date on the current legislation regarding workplace safety but in the good old days when the screen display legislation, I forget the exact name, was implemented if you worked from home you needed to be equipped to the same standard as you would in the office.


    I cannot imagine that the current legislation is any more relaxed.


    At the time the legislation required that all workstations be accessed to ensure adequate seating, equipment and lighting. I cannot imagine that giving an employee a portable computer and expecting them to use it on the dining room table would meet any of the criteria. I can imagine that in a few years if adequate workstations are not implemented for home working there will be a raft of claims from employees with bad backs, RSI and poor eyesight. 


    I say all the above while suffering from a bad back, RSI  and poor eyesight but having worked for a whole variety of companies, including being self employed, over the years before the workplace legislation was implemented ,I think I would find it difficult to get any money from anyone. 


    As an aside: with so many people saying home working is more productive and there is no reason for people to return to offices why are so many companies unable to cope with normal business effectively. I do not mean the companies handling goods etc but those offering a service. It recently took me over 20 minutes to register a credit card as lost, if it had been stolen how much could have been spent in that time? My wife tried to register for online banking for a charity she is treasurer of, the first two times, over 30 minutes waiting on the phone each time, she received an email with a reference number and saying her application was being processed. When she chased after a couple of weeks they had not received her application and did not have any record of the reference number. On the third occasion having got the trustees to fill in all the forms she chased again and after 40 minutes was told that they did not do online banking for charities with two signatures required.


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