Whilst legally you may only need to ensure that portable appliances are in good working order and you may not actually legally be obliged to get professional electrical inspection, many insurance companies will require you to prove that items have been PAT tested.
Without portable appliance testing, you leave yourself open to many potential issues as not only might you may find that your electrical appliances could potentially harm your staff, but should there be a fire, if you cannot prove that you have tested your appliances, you may find that insurers simply do not pay out, and that you may actually end up being held responsible for any consequences stemming from an electrical incident.
Therefore portable appliance testing is extremely important. Anyone taking portable appliances onto another site is also likely to need to prove that their appliances are safe. Many institutions or venues will not allow portable appliances on site unless a PAT certificate can be produced for each and every item and therefore by avoiding the small cost of testing your appliances, you could actually pay far more in the long run.
Ultimately, whilst there is no definitive length of time specified that appliances need to be checked; legally, each and every business has a responsibility to ensure that every single piece of electrical equipment is maintained in a safe working order and therefore the small cost of tests every twelve months or so is likely to be integral, no matter what your business does or the types of appliances it uses.
Speaking to the right electrical inspection company and using online resources should help you understand which items need to be PAT tested and which will simply be okay with a regular user check, and help you see items that may need testing and inspection undertaken, but not every year.
you can find out more about the above here www.elecheck.co.uk