Most small businesses in England have a simple rhythm of checks. Weekly: a walk round and a fire alarm test. Monthly: an emergency lighting function test. Every six months: RCD test buttons and a fire alarm service. Yearly: an emergency lighting duration test, gas safety where you have gas, a fire risk assessment review, air conditioning servicing and PAT testing where needed. Every five years or sooner: an EICR. Your staff, an electrician and specialists each own part of it.
Why does a business need a compliance calendar?
Because the duties are spread across several laws, each with its own interval, and nobody tells you when one is due. A single calendar stops tests slipping and shows an inspector or insurer that you are on top of things.
The main duties come from the Electricity at Work Regulations 1989, which require electrical systems to be kept safe, and the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, which makes a "responsible person" (usually the employer, owner or person in control of the premises) look after fire safety, including emergency lighting and fire alarms. Gas appliances fall under the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998.
Most of these laws don't print a fixed date. They ask you to keep things safe, and British Standards and industry guidance set the usual intervals. Your insurer, landlord or lease may set stricter ones, so check those first. This guide is a practical summary, not legal advice. The Fire Safety Order covers England and Wales; Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own fire safety rules.
What should be checked daily or weekly?
Quick visual checks by your own staff, plus the weekly fire alarm test. None of these needs tools, but each should take a named person a few minutes on a set day.
- Escape routes clear (daily)
- Corridors, stairs and final exits unblocked and unlocked during opening hours.
- Exit signs and indicators (daily)
- Lit exit signs on; self-test lights or central battery panel showing healthy.
- Fire doors (weekly)
- Close fully on their own; not wedged open; seals and glass intact.
- Fire alarm test (weekly)
- One call point per week, rotating, as BS 5839-1 recommends. Your staff or your alarm company.
- Leads and plugs (weekly)
- No damaged flexes, scorched plugs or daisy-chained extension leads.
- Leaks and damp (weekly)
- Under sinks, around toilets and water heaters, and ceilings below plant.
What needs doing every month?
The emergency lighting function test is the main monthly job. A short test of each emergency light and exit sign, recorded in a logbook, is what BS 5266-1 recommends. Your trained staff can do it with a test key, or you can book us to do it each month, as a fixed-price job.
- Emergency lighting function test
- Simulate a mains failure briefly; check every fitting lights; log the result. You or us.
- Fire extinguishers
- Visual check: in place, pin and seal intact, gauge in the green. Your staff.
- First aid and signage
- Fire action notices and safety signs still in place and readable. Your staff.
- Self-test reports
- If your emergency lights self-test, read the panel or report and act on faults. You or us.
What should be checked every six months?
RCD test buttons and the fire alarm service. Both are quick, but they are easy to forget because they happen only twice a year.
Most consumer units and distribution boards carry a notice saying how often to press the RCD test button. Newer notices usually say every six months; some older ones say quarterly. Follow the notice on your board or the maker's instructions. Pressing the button switches off the circuits it protects, so warn staff, plan around tills, servers and fridges, and switch back on straight away. If a device won't trip, or won't reset, get it checked.
- RCD test buttons
- Press, confirm it trips, reset, record. You or us.
- Fire alarm service
- BS 5839-1 recommends a service at least every six months. Fire alarm specialist.
- Gutters and roof drainage
- Autumn and spring, from the ground or ladder where safe. Us, minor repairs only.
What needs doing once a year?
The yearly list is the longest, and most of it needs a specialist or a competent person. Book these as a block so you are not chasing five firms in five different months.
- Emergency lighting duration test
- Full rated duration, usually three hours, logged. Us, out of hours.
- Gas safety check
- Where you have gas appliances or catering gas. Gas Safe registered engineer only, not us.
- Fire risk assessment review
- No fixed legal interval; yearly or after changes is common. Your fire risk assessor.
- Fire extinguisher service
- Yearly service by an extinguisher specialist.
- PAT testing as needed
- Interval depends on equipment and use; office kit may need less often. Us.
How often does a business need an EICR?
Guidance commonly recommends an Electrical Installation Condition Report every five years for offices and shops, and more often for some premises. Hospitality, industrial units and buildings with heavy use or damp conditions often get shorter intervals. Your last report will state when the next inspection is due, and your insurer may set its own date.
An EICR checks the fixed wiring: the distribution board, circuits, sockets, lighting and earthing. It records any defects with codes (C1 danger present, C2 potentially dangerous, C3 improvement recommended, FI further investigation). C1 and C2 items should be put right promptly. We carry out EICRs and price any remedial work as a separate fixed price before doing it.
Also arrange an inspection when you take on new premises, change how a space is used, or after a flood or fire, rather than waiting for the date.
Who does what: your staff, us, or a specialist?
Split the calendar three ways, and write the owner next to each task. Gaps usually appear where everyone assumes someone else is doing it.
- Your staff
- Daily and weekly checks, weekly fire alarm test, monthly emergency light test if trained.
- NT Electric
- Emergency light tests, RCD tests, EICRs, PAT testing, electrical and plumbing repairs.
- Fire alarm specialist
- Fire alarm servicing, repairs and system changes.
- Gas Safe engineer
- All gas appliances, boilers and catering gas. We never do gas work.
- Kitchen extraction specialist
- Canopies, ductwork and grease cleaning in food premises.
- Fire risk assessor
- Writing and reviewing your fire risk assessment.
What records should you keep, and for how long?
Keep every test record, certificate and invoice in one place, paper or digital. If there is a fire, an insurance claim or a visit from the fire service or council, these are the first things you will be asked for.
A sensible file includes the emergency lighting logbook, the fire alarm log, the latest EICR and remedial certificates, gas safety records, PAT records, air conditioning service sheets and your fire risk assessment. Keep previous EICRs too, because they show how the installation has changed. There is no single retention rule for all of these, so keeping at least the last two of each is a common, cautious habit.
How can you combine checks into fewer visits?
Line up tasks with similar intervals so one visit covers several. For example, the annual emergency lighting duration test, one of the six-monthly RCD tests and PAT testing can often be done on the same day, alongside small repairs from your snag list.
NT Electric covers electrical, plumbing and handyman work, so a dripping tap, a failed light and a loose door closer can go on the same visit. We work job by job: each visit is one fixed price, agreed before work starts, with no contract. You get a short report and test records for your file.
Questions
Can my staff do the monthly emergency lighting test?
Usually yes, if they have been shown how, have the test key and fill in the logbook properly. The annual duration test needs more care, because batteries need time to recharge afterwards, so many businesses leave that one to an electrician.
What happens if we miss a test?
Do it as soon as you notice and record the date honestly. A missed test is a gap in your evidence. If something then fails, the fire service, HSE or your insurer may ask why. Enforcement depends on the circumstances, so check current guidance.
Do we need a gas safety certificate for a shop or office?
If there are gas appliances, they must be kept safe, and an annual check by a Gas Safe registered engineer is the usual way to show it. Commercial kitchens often have their own gas checks. We do not do gas work.
Is a five-year EICR always enough?
Not always. Five years is a common recommendation for offices and shops, but your last report, your insurer or your lease may set a shorter interval. Premises with heavy use, damp or catering often need inspecting more often.
Does PAT testing have to be done every year?
No. The law asks for equipment to be kept safe, not for a set PAT interval. How often depends on the type of equipment and how it is used, following the IET Code of Practice. Frequently moved or heavily used kit needs checking more often.
Who is the responsible person in a rented unit?
It can be more than one person. The tenant business usually controls its own unit, while the landlord or managing agent controls shared areas. Your lease should say who maintains what, so check it and agree who keeps each record.