PUWER regulations explained: who they apply to and what counts as work equipment
PUWER, the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998, applies to anyone who provides work equipment, uses it at work or controls how it’s used. That includes landlords and managing agents as well as employers. It covers almost anything used for work, and requires equipment to be suitable, maintained, inspected where needed and used by trained people.
Most of the PUWER questions I get aren’t about the regulations themselves. They’re about whether the regulations apply at all. Is a landlord responsible for the lift? Does the gym kit count? What about the drill someone brought in from home? This post answers those questions you all have. If you want to go through the duties one regulation at a time, I’ve done that in my PUWER audit guide.
What is PUWER?
PUWER is a set of regulations made under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. It came into force in December 1998 and applies across Great Britain. HSE backs it with an Approved Code of Practice, Safe use of work equipment (L22), now in its fourth edition.
The regulations are split into parts:
Part I (regulations 1 to 3): definitions, and who and what the regulations apply to
Part II (regulations 4 to 24): the general duties, such as suitability, maintenance, inspection, training, guarding, controls and stability
Part III (regulations 25 to 30): mobile work equipment, such as forklifts, dumpers and tractors
Part IV (regulations 31 to 35): power presses, which have their own examination rules
Part V (regulations 36 to 39): exemptions, repeals and other legal housekeeping
The ones that come up most often are Regulation 4 (the equipment must be suitable), Regulation 5 (it must be maintained in a safe condition), Regulation 6 (inspection) and Regulation 9 (people using it must be trained).
Who has to comply with PUWER?
Regulation 3 places duties on three groups:
Employers. If you provide equipment for your employees, or they use equipment at work, you have to make sure it complies. That’s true whether you own it, hire it or borrow it.
Some self-employed people. Since October 2015 the duties only apply to a “relevant self-employed person”. In practice that means self-employed people working in higher-risk sectors such as construction or agriculture, or whose work could put other people at risk. A self-employed electrician on a building site is covered. A freelance writer with a laptop isn’t.
Anyone who controls work equipment or how it’s used. This is the group people forget. Regulation 3(3)(b) puts the same duties on anyone who has control of work equipment, of the people using it, or of the way it’s used, “to the extent of his control”. The control has to be part of running a business or undertaking, but that business doesn’t have to make a profit.
That catches:
Landlords and building owners. HSE’s own example is the owner of a multi-occupied building being responsible for making sure the lift complies. See who is responsible for lift inspections in a block of flats.
Managing agents who control equipment in common parts on the owner’s behalf
Main contractors on construction sites. HSE’s example is the scaffold
Businesses that take on agency workers, who control the equipment those workers use
Hire companies, which usually lead on maintenance and inspection because they set the schedules. The business using the hired kit is still responsible for training its own people. See who is responsible for hired lifting equipment
Where several businesses share equipment, HSE says you must agree between you who takes responsibility for it. Put that in writing - A contract can’t hand over a legal duty, but it can stop anything falling between the cracks.
Employees have no duties under PUWER itself. Under the Health and Safety at Work Act they still have to use equipment as trained, and report anything unsafe.
What counts as work equipment?
Regulation 2 defines work equipment as “any machinery, appliance, apparatus, tool or installation for use at work (whether exclusively or not)”. That’s deliberately wide. HSE’s examples run from hammers, knives and ladders to photocopiers, dumper trucks, lifts and whole production lines. It covers new, existing and second-hand equipment.
These two points catch people out:
Equipment employees bring in is covered. If you let a builder use their own drill or trowel, you need to make sure it’s safe.
“Use” is wider than operating it. PUWER defines use as any activity involving the equipment. That includes starting, stopping, programming, setting, transporting, repairing, modifying, maintaining, servicing and cleaning.
HSE lists four things that are not work equipment:
Livestock
Substances, such as acids, slurry, cement or water
Structural items, such as walls, stairs, roofs and fences
Private cars
Company vehicles are work equipment. On a public road, road traffic law takes priority, but on your own site, a private road or an industrial estate, PUWER applies.
Is it covered? Some common examples
Equipment | Is it covered by PUWER? | Where its inspection rules come from |
Lift in a multi-occupied office building | Yes | LOLER thorough examination, every 6 months if it carries people. The building owner or managing agent is usually responsible |
Forklift | Yes | LOLER for the lifting parts. PUWER Part III covers it as mobile work equipment |
Roller shutter door or dock leveller | Yes | PUWER Regulation 6, at intervals set by your risk assessment |
Ladder, stepladder or podium | Yes | Work at Height Regulations 2005, regulation 12 |
Tools employees bring from home | Yes | PUWER Regulation 6, if they wear in a way that could become dangerous |
Gym kit used only by members | No, for the members’ use | Section 3 of the Health and Safety at Work Act still applies. Staff use is covered by PUWER |
Air line on a garage forecourt for customers | No | Section 3 of the Health and Safety at Work Act |
Company van used on a site or private road | Yes | PUWER off the public road. On public roads, road traffic law takes priority |
Metal-working power press | Yes | PUWER Part IV, regulations 31 to 35, which have their own examination rules |
Stairs, walls, roofs and fences | No | Not work equipment. They are structural items |
An employee’s own car used to get to work | No | Not work equipment. Private cars are excluded |
Where does PUWER apply?
PUWER applies anywhere the Health and Safety at Work Act does. That means factories, offices, shops, schools, hospitals, hotels, care homes and entertainment venues. It also applies in the common parts of shared buildings, on private roads and paths on industrial estates and business parks, and on temporary sites such as construction sites. It covers equipment used by people working from home.
There are two important exceptions:
Domestic work in a private household. If you employ a cleaner at home, PUWER doesn’t apply to that.
Equipment provided for the public to use. HSE’s examples are the air line on a garage forecourt and lifts used by shoppers in a shopping centre. PUWER doesn’t cover that public use. Section 3 of the Health and Safety at Work Act still does, so you still have to keep the public safe.
The second exception matters for gyms, leisure centres and play areas. PUWER covers the kit when your staff use it. When members or visitors use it, your duty to them comes from the Act instead. Either way, it needs to be safe. I’ve covered this in more detail in my post on gym equipment inspections.
Does PUWER require an inspection?
Sometimes. Regulation 6 says equipment must be inspected:
after installation, before it’s first used, where its safety depends on how it was installed
after it’s assembled at a new site or in a new location
at suitable intervals, where it’s exposed to conditions that cause deterioration that could become dangerous
after exceptional circumstances that could affect its safety, such as damage, a collision or a long period out of use
The inspection must be done by a competent person, and you must keep a record of it until the next inspection is recorded. If equipment leaves your business or arrives from someone else’s, it must come with physical evidence of its last inspection, such as a copy of the record or a tag.
PUWER doesn’t set an interval. You set it from your risk assessment, which comes from Regulation 3 of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999. My post on how often you need a PUWER inspection goes through how to decide.
Regulation 6 doesn’t cover some equipment, because other regulations deal with its inspection:
Lifting equipment, including lifts, hoists, forklifts and lifting accessories, which needs a thorough examination under LOLER. See LOLER vs PUWER
Ladders, podiums, scaffold towers, guard rails and other work at height equipment, which are inspected under regulation 12 of the Work at Height Regulations 2005
Power presses, which have their own rules in regulations 31 to 35
Excavation equipment inspected under the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015
All the other PUWER duties still apply to that equipment. A forklift still has to be suitable, maintained and driven by someone trained. It’s only the inspection that comes from LOLER.
What happens if you don’t comply?
Breaking PUWER is a criminal offence under the Health and Safety at Work Act. Depending on the type of business, it’s enforced by HSE or by your local council. An inspector can:
give advice, verbal or written
issue an improvement notice, giving you a deadline to put things right
issue a prohibition notice, stopping the equipment or activity straight away
prosecute, and fines for health and safety offences are unlimited
If HSE is your enforcing authority and an inspector finds a material breach, you’ll also pay a fee for intervention. That’s £188 an hour from 1 April 2026, covering the time it takes HSE to find the problem and help you put it right, including office time afterwards. The bigger cost is usually the incident itself. If someone is hurt, the questions afterwards are always the same. Was the equipment suitable? Was it maintained? Was it inspected? Was the person trained? Can you prove it?
PUWER inspections across the East Midlands
PULO Compliance is based in Nottingham and inspect work equipment across the East Midlands, including Nottingham, Derby, Leicester, Loughborough, and Lincoln. We also travel further afield to cover most of the UK. That includes roller shutters and dock levellers, gym equipment, fall arrest equipment and the other equipment listed on my PUWER page.
How I work:
I carry out and sign every inspection myself. I’ve been doing this for 14 years.
PULO doesn’t sell, hire or repair equipment, so there’s no reason for me to find faults that aren’t there.
You get a reminder before each inspection is due.
Once I’ve quoted, the price is fixed for all your ongoing inspections.
You'll receive your report the same day as my visit to you.
PULO Compliance holds ISO 9001, ISO 14001 and ISO 45001, and CHAS Advanced.
You can see what a PUWER inspection involves, check PUWER inspection costs, or call me on 07412 957 441.
What to do next...
If you’re not sure where you stand, start here:
List your work equipment, including anything hired, shared or brought in by staff.
Work out who controls each item. If it’s shared with a landlord, tenant or contractor, agree in writing who handles inspection and maintenance.
Check which regulations set its inspection. PUWER Regulation 6, LOLER or the Work at Height Regulations.
Set intervals from your risk assessment, and write down why you chose them.
Keep the records, at least until the next inspection is recorded.
Train the people who use it, and keep a note of who was trained on what.
If you’d like a hand with any of that, get in touch for a quote.
Frequently asked questions
What does PUWER stand for?
PUWER stands for the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998. They set out how work equipment must be chosen, maintained, inspected and used in Great Britain, and they sit under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974.
Who is responsible for complying with PUWER?
Employers, some self-employed people, and anyone who controls work equipment or the way it is used at work, to the extent of their control. That last group includes landlords, managing agents, main contractors and businesses that take on agency workers.
Does PUWER apply to landlords and managing agents?
Yes, where they control equipment that other people use at work. HSE gives the example of the owner of a multi-occupied building being responsible for making sure the lift complies. Tenants, contractors and agents should agree in writing who handles inspection and maintenance.
What is not classed as work equipment under PUWER?
HSE lists four things: livestock, substances such as acids, cement or water, structural items such as walls, stairs, roofs and fences, and private cars. Almost everything else used for work counts, including tools that employees bring from home.
Does PUWER apply to equipment used by the public?
No. If you provide equipment for members of the public to use, such as an air line on a garage forecourt, PUWER does not apply to that use. You still have a duty under section 3 of the Health and Safety at Work Act to keep the public safe.
Does PUWER say how often equipment must be inspected?
No. Regulation 6 requires inspection after installation where safety depends on it, at suitable intervals where equipment deteriorates, and after anything that could affect its safety. You set the interval from your risk assessment, and you keep the record until the next inspection.
Do PUWER inspections cover lifting equipment and ladders?
Not under Regulation 6. Lifting equipment is thoroughly examined under LOLER, and ladders, podiums and other work at height equipment are inspected under the Work at Height Regulations 2005. PUWER still applies to that equipment in every other way.
What happens if you break PUWER?
HSE or your local council can issue an improvement or prohibition notice, or prosecute, and fines are unlimited. Where HSE finds a material breach, it also charges a fee for intervention, which is £188 an hour from April 2026.
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