EICRs for businesses: what the law expects

No law says a business must have an EICR every five years — but the law does require your electrical systems to be safe. The Electricity at Work Regulations 1989 say systems must be maintained, so far as is reasonably practicable, to prevent danger. Regular inspection and testing is how most employers meet that duty and show they have, and industry guidance recommends it at least every five years for most business premises.

An EICR — an Electrical Installation Condition Report — is the standard record of that inspection. Here is what the law expects, who is responsible, and what’s involved for offices, shops and restaurants.

What the law says

The key duty is regulation 4(2) of the Electricity at Work Regulations 1989:

As may be necessary to prevent danger, all systems shall be maintained so as to prevent, so far as is reasonably practicable, such danger.

Regulation 3 puts that duty on every employer and self-employed person, for matters within their control, and requires employees to co-operate.

The regulations don’t set an inspection interval. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) says there is no legal requirement for inspection and testing at set intervals — the requirement is to keep the installation in a safe condition. HSE’s advice is to arrange inspection and testing of the fixed wiring so that deterioration doesn’t cause danger, and for the work to be done by a competent person, usually an electrician.

So an EICR isn’t a legal document in itself: it’s your evidence. After an accident, a fire or an insurance claim, a recent report — and records showing you acted on any problems — is the clearest way to show the installation was properly maintained.

How often: the five-year guideline

Industry guidance from the IET recommends a maximum of five years between inspections for most business premises, such as offices and shops. Some installations need checking more often — swimming pools every year, for example — and the inspector can recommend a shorter interval for any installation, based on its age, condition and use.

Your report gives the date of the next inspection. Follow it and diary it. It’s also sensible to have an inspection when you take on new premises, so you know what the previous occupier has left behind.

Who is responsible: landlord or tenant?

For rented business premises, it depends on the lease and on who controls what:

• The tenant business, as the employer, is responsible for the parts of the installation within its control — often the unit’s own distribution board, circuits and equipment.
• The landlord is usually responsible for the common parts, the landlord’s supply and anything else the lease makes theirs.
• The lease decides who arranges and pays for periodic inspection and repairs.

Fire safety works the same way. Under fire safety law, the “responsible person” can be the employer, the owner, the landlord, an occupier or anyone else with control of the premises — and where there’s more than one, they must work together.

Flats above shops: if you let a flat above your business as someone’s home, that flat is covered by the landlord rules — an inspection at least every five years, with a copy of the report for the tenant. See EICR for landlords.

Insurers, landlords and managing agents

Business insurers, commercial landlords and managing agents often ask for a current EICR. Check your policy wording and your lease: if either mentions periodic electrical inspection, keep the report and any remedial work records where you can find them quickly.

What a business EICR covers

The inspection follows the same steps as any EICR — a visual inspection, then tests on each circuit (see what an EICR checks). Business installations are often bigger and more varied than homes: several distribution boards, sub-main cables linking them, three-phase supplies for heavier equipment, and fixed equipment such as water heaters, hand dryers, extract fans and illuminated signs. The report should cover every board and circuit in the agreed extent, and list anything that couldn’t be reached as a limitation.

What’s involved for different premises

What changes from one business to the next is mostly the planning.

Offices

Offices tend to have many socket circuits, lots of IT equipment and sometimes a comms or server room. Circuits have to be switched off for testing and sensitive equipment disconnected, so plan the power-off periods around working hours and back up anything critical first.

Shops

Shops often have display and security lighting, tills, card machines and chilled cabinets, and the wiring may have been altered by previous tenants. Testing before opening or after closing keeps disruption down — agree in advance what must stay on.

Restaurants, cafés and takeaways

Commercial kitchens are hard on electrics: heat, steam, grease and heavy loads from cooking and refrigeration equipment. Plan testing outside service times, and tell the electrician about fridges and freezers so stock is protected.

Other checks your business may need

• Portable appliances. HSE is clear that the law doesn’t make PAT testing, or testing every year, a legal requirement — but equipment must be maintained to prevent danger, and how often you check depends on the equipment and where it’s used. See PAT testing.
• Emergency lighting. Under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, emergency routes and exits that need lighting must have emergency lighting of adequate intensity, and fire safety equipment must be maintained. See emergency lighting testing.
• Fire risk assessment. The responsible person must carry out a fire risk assessment and keep it up to date. Your EICR and emergency lighting records support it.

Keep the paperwork together

Keep your EICR, the certificates for any remedial work, your appliance test records and your emergency lighting log in one place. HSE notes there’s no legal requirement to keep records of appliance checks — but a simple register makes it easy to show an inspector, insurer or landlord what was done and when.

If the report finds problems

Problems are coded the same way as in a home: C1 (danger present), C2 (potentially dangerous), C3(improvement recommended) and FI (further investigation). The 28-day deadline in the landlord rules doesn’t apply to business premises — but C1 and C2 items are, by definition, dangerous or potentially dangerous, so your duty to prevent danger means dealing with them promptly. See EICR codes explained.

You get a clear quote for any remedial works, with no obligation to use us.

Key points

• The Electricity at Work Regulations 1989 require electrical systems to be maintained to prevent danger.
• There’s no fixed legal interval; industry guidance recommends at least every five years for most business premises.
• An EICR is your evidence that the installation has been checked and maintained.
• In rented premises, the lease decides who arranges it.
• PAT testing and emergency lighting are separate checks.

Book a commercial EICR

Business premises vary, so tell us about yours — the size, the number of distribution boards, access and your trading hours — and we’ll confirm the price before anything is booked. We test every circuit to BS 7671, carry £5m public liability insurance, and email your report as a PDF with every code explained in plain English.

See our commercial EICR service, send us your details, request a booking, or call 07301 010244.