Benefits of using an NICEIC-registered Contractor

NICEIC has been assessing the technical competence of electricians for over 50 years. Our aim is to protect everyone who uses electricity from unsafe electrical installations anywhere. To achieve this, we maintain a register of qualified, competent electricians.

We look at a representative sample of the contractor’s work, their premises, documentation, equipment, and the competence of their key supervisory staff. Once contractors become registered with NICEIC, they are re-assessed on a regular basis to ensure high standards.

Enrolment with NICEIC is voluntary, but electrical contractors who are conscientious about the service they offer would consider it a priority to enrol. Over 25,000 contractors are registered by NICEIC, covering the whole of the UK, including Northern Ireland.

The main benefits of using a contractor registered by NICEIC include:

• Safety and Competence
• Compliance with Building Regulations
• Insurance Backed Warranty
• Guarantee of Standards Scheme
• Independent ComplaintsProcedure

Safety and competence

Electricians registered by NICEIC are assessed on a regular basis to ensure that they are competent and capable of meeting the relevant technical and safety standards, codes of practice and rules of the Schemes they are registered to. 

Compliance with building regulations

Contractors registered to NICEIC Building Regulations Schemes are authorised to self-certify their work without hindrance from Local Authority Building Control.  This saves you both time and money when undertaking work that requires notification under the Building Regulations.

Insurance Backed Warranty

The NICEIC Insurance Backed Warranty covers work done by contractors registered to the NICEIC Domestic Installer Scheme that is notifiable to Building Control.  The purpose of the Warranty is to protect consumers should any work be found not to comply with the Building Regulations under circumstances where the contractor is no longer in business to undertake the necessary remedial work. So remember to ask the contractor for a Part P certificate on completion of work. The certificate will have the IBW details on it.

The financial limit placed on the remedial work is £25,000 for any one installation per period of insurance and the warranty is valid for a period of six years from the date of completion of the original work.

Guarantee of Standards Scheme

NICEIC expects its registered contractors to provide a quality service to their customers and, therefore, endeavour to resolve all complaints about the technical standard of their electrical work.  If a customer and an Approved Contractor are unable to resolve an alleged deficiency in the technical standard of electrical work, the customer can make a formal complaint to NICEIC. NICEIC will help facilitate the negotiations between the contractor and the complainant.

As described below, the NICEIC Complaints Procedure requires the an NICEIC-registered contractor to resolve the technical deficiency without additional cost to the consumer.  However, if the contractor does not undertake the required remedial work, NICEIC’s Guarantee of Standards Scheme ensures it will be done by another NICEIC-registered contractor, at no cost to the customer.

Independent Complaints Procedure

NICEIC operates an independent complaints procedure. If the electrical work of a registered contractor is found to be below the accepted technical standard, NICEIC requires the contractor to correct the work, at no additional cost to the customer.  NICEIC is concerned solely with the safety and technical standard of the electrical work carried out by Approved Contractors, and the standard of certification and periodic inspection reports which Approved Contractors are responsible for producing.

Electrical hazards are invisible but deadly, causing fires and electrical shocks. These hazards are easily preventable if you use an NICEIC-registered contractor to install, inspect and maintain your electrics.

Government figures estimate that each year there are around:
10 fatal and 2,000 non-fatal electric shock accidents in the home 
19 fatal and 880 non-fatal shock accidents in the workplace

There are also about 12,500 electrical fires in homes across the UK each year. Although many incidents are caused by faulty appliances rather than the electrical installation itself, a properly installed and well-maintained electrical system could save lives.

Cables, switches, socket-outlets and other equipment deteriorate with prolonged use, so they all need to be checked and necessary replacements or repairs made in good time.

Whilst it is relatively easy to make an electrical circuit work – it is far more tricky to make the circuit work safely.  To avoid the dangers that electricity can create it is essential that electrical work is carried out only by those with the correct knowledge, skill and experience in the type of electrical work to be undertaken.

The Electrical Safety Council published the results of their National Consumer Survey and found that:

• 42% of those surveyed stated they had never had their electrics checked
• 32% of DIYers stated they had experienced one or more electric shocks while carrying out DIY 
• 59% of people do not use qualified electricians when carrying out electrical work 
• 48% of those surveyed did not know that their electrics should be checked at least every 10 years

Building regulations compliance

If you own a home or rental property, you are legally responsible for compliance with the Building Regulations.

The Building Regulations apply to building work in England and Wales and set standards for the design and construction of buildings to ensure the health and safety of people in or around those buildings.  Equivalent Regulations apply in Scotland.

Do you speak sparky?

Whether your whole house is being rewired or you’re just having some new sockets fitted, it helps to know the difference between a consumer unit and a circuit breaker. To help you understand what your electrician is talking about, we’ve put together a jargonbuster to explain below some of the more common terms used.

BS – British Standard
British Standard BS 7671 – also known as the IEE (Institute of Electrical Engineering) wiring regulations. Details the requirements for electrical installations and is the standard against which all NICEIC contractors are assessed. To enrol with NICEIC all electricians, and anyone they employ, must meet this national safety standard.

Certificate
Any electrician installing a new electrical installation (including a single circuit), altering, extending or adapting an existing circuit should issue the homeowner with electrical installation certificate or minor electrical installation works certificate to confirm the work complies with the requirements of BS 7671.

Circuit
An assembly of electrical equipment (socket outlets, lighting points and switches) supplied from the same origin and protected against over current by the same protective device(s).

Circuit-breaker or RCD
A device capable of making, carrying and breaking normal load currents and also making and automatically breaking, under pre-determined conditions, abnormal currents such as short-circuit currents. It is usually required to operate infrequently although some types are suitable for frequent operation.

Class I equipment
Equipment in which protection against electric shock does not rely on basic insulation only, but which includes means for the connection of exposed-conductive-parts to a protective conductor in the fixed wiring of the installation. Class I equipment has exposed metallic parts, e.g. the metallic enclosure of washing machine.

Class II equipment
Class II equipment, such as music systems, television and video players, in which protection against electric shock does not rely on basic insulation only, but in which additional safety precautions such as supplementary insulation are provided, there being no provision for the connection of exposed metalwork of the equipment to a protective conductor, and no reliance upon precautions to be taken in the fixed wiring of the installation.

Class III equipment
Equipment, for example for medical use, in which protection against electric shock relies on supply at SELV (Safety extra low voltage) and in which voltages higher than those of SELV are not generated. Class III equipment must be supplied from a safety isolating transformer.

Consumer unit
Also known as a fusebox, consumer control unit or electricity control unit. A particular type of distribution board comprising a co-ordinated assembly for the control and distribution of electrical energy, principally in domestic premises, incorporating manual means of double-pole isolation on the incoming circuit(s) and an assembly of one or more fuses, circuit-breakers, residual current operated devices or signalling and other devices purposely manufactured for such use.

Distribution board
An assembly containing switching or protective devices (e.g. fuses, circuit-breakers, residual current operated devices) associated with one or more outgoing circuits fed from one or more incoming circuits, together with terminals for the neutral and protective circuit conductors. It may also include signalling and other control devices. Means of isolation may be included in the board or may be provided separately.

Electrical installation
Any assembly of electrical equipment supplied by a common source to fulfil a specific purpose.

Electrical Safety Regulations
NICEIC registered electricians have already helped to improve the standard of electrical work in the UK. A new electrical safety law, often referred to as Part P of the Building Regulations, has further enhanced the protection of homeowners and reduced the risk of electric shock when using electricity. The law, which applies to England and Wales aims to improve electrical safety in the home and prevent the number of accidents, which are caused by faulty electrical work. The law requires an electrician registered with a government-approved scheme, such as NICEIC, to carry out most electrical work in the home. After completion of any work your NICEIC registered electrician will issue you with a Building Regulations Compliance Certificate to prove it meets the required standards of Part P. You can only carry out electrical work yourself if you can inspect and test that it is safe for use. To comply with the law you must notify your local building control office before you begin any work and pay the appropriate fee for them to inspect the work.

Extension leads
An extension cable, also known as a power extender, extension cord or an extension lead, is a length of flexible electrical power cable or flex with a plug on one end and one or more sockets on the other end – usually of the same type as the plug. However use of extension leads should be avoided where possible, as there is a chance of overloading the circuit.

LV
Low Voltage

mA
Milliamp or 1/1000 part of an amp

Overcurrent
Electrical current (in amps) that exceeds the maximum limit of a circuit. May result in risk of fire or shock from insulation damaged from heat generated by overcurrent condition.

Part P
The specific section of the Building Regulations for England and Wales that relates to electrical installations in domestic properties. Part P provides safety regulations to protect householders, and requires most domestic electrical work to be carried out by government-registered electricians, or to be inspected by Building Control officers.

PAT – Portable Appliance Testing
Inspection and testing of electrical equipment including portable appliances, moveable equipment, hand held appliances, stationary equipment, fixed equipment/appliances, IT equipment and extension leads.

PIR – Periodic Inspection Report
An electrical survey, known as a Periodic Inspection Report (PIR) will reveal if electrical circuits are overloaded, find potential hazards in the installation, identify defective DIY work, highlight any lack of earthing or bonding and carry out tests on the fixed wiring of the installation. The cost of a typical PIR should start around £100, depending on the size of your property. The report will establish the overall condition of all the electrics and state whether it is satisfactory for continued use, and should detail any work that might need to be done.

PLI – Public Liability Insurance
Broad term for insurance which covers liability exposures for individuals and business owners. Homeowners should check that their electrician has public liability insurance, which covers them if someone is accidentally injured by them or their business operation. It will also cover them if they damage your property while on business. The cover should include any legal fees and expenses which result from any claim by you. Homeowners looking to employ trades people to undertake work on their homes should ensure the companies selected have suitable cover – minimum recommendation is £2 million.

Portable equipment
Electrical equipment which is less than 18 kg in mass and is intended to be moved while in operation or which can easily be moved from one place to another, such as a toaster, food mixer, vacuum cleaner, fan heater.

Prospective fault current
The value of overcurrent at a given point in a circuit resulting from a fault between live conductors.

RCD – Residual current device
Residual current device is a safety device that switches off the electricity automatically when it detects an earth fault, providing protection against electric shock.

RCD – residual current device
This is not just a manually operated isolating switch, but a very sensitive safety device which cuts off in fractions of a second if it senses an earth fault. RCDs can be bought in different current ratings and various sensitivities to current leakage.

Ring final circuit/ring main/ ring
A final circuit connected in the form of a ring and connected to a single point of supply.

SELV
Separated Extra-Low Voltage. An extra-low voltage system, which is electrically separated from Earth and from other systems in such a way that a single fault cannot give rise to the risk of electric shock.

Voltage, extra-low
Normally not exceeding 50 V a.c. or 120 V ripple-free d.c., whether between conductors or to earth.