All portable electrical equipment must be suitable for its intended purpose. Those which might foreseeably be exposed to any of the following adverse conditions:

environmental (e.g. rainwater, high humidity, dust, etc.)
physical (e.g. extreme temperatures, vibration, impacts, etc.)
chemical (e.g. flammable, corrosive or explosive atmospheres, etc.), must be of such a construction so as to avoid danger.

The need for extra precautions (e.g. use of RCD, centre-tapped mains isolating transformer, SELV, etc) for hand-held equipment must always be considered.

The owner must ensure that all portable appliances are adequately maintained through inspection and testing by suitably competent persons. The frequency of these is dependent upon the type of equipment, the conditions in which it is used and other relevant factors as determined through risk assessment. The testing agency must record their findings.

The owner must keep a copy of these records. Any equipment which fails an inspection or test, or is otherwise found to be unsafe, must be taken out of service until it has been repaired, tested, and proven to be safe. Where a significant risk is identified, these must be reported to the user in writing at the earliest opportunity, with copies sent to their local adviser by the quickest reasonable means.

Users must regularly inspect their portable appliances, including checking that the test agency label is within its due test date - report to your line manager any that are out of date and they will arrange for it to be re-tested.