Arc flash regulations: understanding employer responsibilities

HSG85 is the HSE's guidance on safe working practices for electrical work. It makes specific reference to arc flash, stating that where there is a risk of burns from arcing or flashover that cannot be avoided, the use of adequately rated, thermally insulating, flame-resistant PPE should be considered.

The key phrase here is "adequately rated." Determining what qualifies as adequate protection requires a proper assessment of the incident energy levels at each piece of equipment on your network. This, in turn, requires the kind of quantitative arc flash study that your organisation may not yet have commissioned.

The concept of the "duty holder" under the EAWR is broad. It extends to any person who has a duty under the regulations, including employers, the self-employed, and employees themselves to the extent of their control over work activities. Many large organisations designate a specific individual or role as the electrical duty holder, someone with senior accountability for electrical safety across the organisation's operations.

Critically, you cannot fully delegate your legal responsibility. Even if day-to-day management of arc flash risk is passed to a competent person, a safety team, or a specialist contractor, you remain accountable for ensuring that the risk is being managed effectively.

This raises two questions that you should be able to answer clearly:

• Who is the electrical duty holder in your organisation?
• Do they understand that arc flash risk management falls within their responsibilities?

If the answer to either question is uncertain, your organisation is exposed.

While the duty holder carries overarching accountability, arc flash safety in the workplace involves multiple stakeholders. Design engineers must ensure that new installations and modifications account for arc flash hazard levels. Maintenance teams must follow safe working practices and isolation procedures. Procurement teams must ensure that the PPE they specify meets the correct arc flash clothing standards for the tasks and incident energy levels involved. Contractors and visiting workers must be made aware of site-specific arc flash risks and the controls in place.

If you manage multiple sites, there needs to be consistency across all sites. The arc flash hazard at one substation or switchroom may differ significantly from another, and a uniform PPE policy may not be appropriate for your operations unless it is based on the highest foreseeable exposure across all locations. Task-specific risk assessments and site-specific arc flash labels help bridge this gap, giving workers the information they need at the point of work.

An arc flash study uses system data (voltage, fault current levels, protection settings, conductor configurations) to calculate the incident energy at each piece of electrical equipment on the network. This quantitative prediction is the essential first step. Without it, you cannot determine appropriate controls, set PPE requirements, or produce meaningful equipment labels.

IEEE 1584 provides the most widely recognised methodology for these calculations. The results tell you not just how severe an arc flash could be at a given point, but also how far the hazard extends (the arc flash boundary), and what level of thermal protection a worker would need if they were present during an event.

For large, complex electrical networks, this is not a trivial undertaking. It requires accurate single-line diagrams, up-to-date protection settings, verified fault current data, and specialist engineering expertise. But it is the foundation for all other arc flash controls you put in place.

The IET's Arc Flash Risk Management Factfile, developed with input from HSE specialists, outlines a structured approach using what it terms the "4Ps": Predict, Prevent, Process, and Protect.

Predict involves calculating the severity of the hazard using recognised methods. Prevent involves applying the hierarchy of risk controls, starting with elimination (de-energising before work begins) and moving through engineering controls such as improved protection settings, reduced fault clearance times, and redesigned circuits. Process covers the policies, procedures, permits, and competency frameworks that govern how work is planned and authorised. Protect addresses the provision of arc-rated PPE as a last resort for residual risk.

The hierarchy is not optional. UK law, through both the EAWR and the PPE Regulations, expects employers to exhaust higher-order controls before relying on protective clothing. If you issue arc flash PPE without first attempting to reduce incident energy at source, you are unlikely to satisfy the legal test of reasonable practicability.

Experience has shown that applying these principles can dramatically reduce or even eliminate the need for heavy PPE. By optimising protection settings, introducing faster-acting protective devices, or re-routing circuits, you can bring incident energy levels down to thresholds where lightweight, comfortable arc flash protective clothing is sufficient.

Regulation 16 of the EAWR and Regulation 7 of the MHSWR both require that workers are competent for the tasks they perform. In the context of arc flash, this means that anyone in your workforce who works on or near energised electrical equipment must understand the hazard, the controls in place, and the correct use of their PPE.

Training should cover not only the technical aspects of arc flash (what it is, what causes it, how severe it can be) but also the practical procedures that prevent it. These include isolation and lockout/tagout procedures, permit-to-work systems, the correct interpretation of arc flash labels, and the proper selection and use of arc-rated clothing.

For you, this extends to ensuring that contractors and visiting workers are briefed on site-specific arc flash risks before they begin work.

Large organisations with operations spanning multiple countries may encounter the American standard NFPA 70E (Standard for Electrical Safety in the Workplace), which is widely referenced in arc flash risk management globally. While the document contains valuable technical information, it was written for jurisdictions that follow a US electrical safety model and applying it directly in the UK requires caution.

Key differences include the treatment of live working (NFPA 70E permits energised work under broader circumstances than Regulation 14 of the EAWR would allow), the reliance on American standards for PPE testing and certification (ASTM, ANSI, UL rather than the European EN standards required in the UK), and fundamental differences in definitions, shock protection boundaries, and electrical installation standards.

If you choose to reference NFPA 70E, ensure that any elements you adopt are adapted to align with UK legislation, UK-specific safety rules, and European PPE standards. Competent advice should be sought before incorporating any part of the standard into a UK safety management system.

Managing arc flash risk is a multi-layered challenge, and the right protective clothing is a critical part of the solution. At alsico, we specialise in designing and manufacturing arc flash protective clothing that meets the highest European safety standards without compromising on comfort, fit, or freedom of movement.

Our arc flash garments are tested to EN IEC 61482-1-1 (open arc) and EN IEC 61482-1-2 (box test) and are available in a range of formats including coveralls, trousers, and jackets. We work with some of the UK's largest employers across utilities, rail, manufacturing, and construction to deliver tailored PPE programmes that align with real-world tasks and site-specific arc flash data.

If you are reviewing your arc flash safety strategy or need expert guidance on selecting the right protective clothing for your workforce, get in touch with our team.