Electrical safety training online in the UK: where to train and what employers look for

What employers look for in an online electrical safety certificate

Your employer decides what electrical safety training you need, guided by its risk assessment. The Electricity at Work Regulations 1989 put a duty to prevent danger on everyone at work, and no one may do work that needs technical knowledge or experience unless they have it or are properly supervised. HSE guidance HSR25, HSG85 and INDG236 explains what that means in practice. When an employer checks a certificate, they usually look for:

• Content that follows the law and HSE guidance. The Electricity at Work Regulations 1989 in England, Wales and Scotland, the Northern Ireland regulations of 1991, the Health and Safety at Work Act, and HSE guidance HSR25, HSG85 and INDG236.
• A clear record. The course name, hours of learning and completion date.
• The essentials every non-electrician needs. How electricity harms the body, the common hazards at work, how fuses, residual current devices and earthing protect people, user checks before use, when equipment needs a formal inspection or test by a competent person, isolating equipment and what to do after a shock, burn or electrical fire.
• A refresh date. Equipment, tasks and workplaces change, so a refresh date matters.

Lift College's certificate records Electrical Safety Training, 1.5 hours of learning, your completion date and a recommended refresh date 3 years on. Electrical work itself, from fixed wiring to repairs and portable appliance testing, must be done by a competent person with the right electrical training and, for testing, the right instruments. The course teaches you to recognise danger, carry out simple user checks and know when to call that person.

What the Lift College course covers

There are 4 short modules, each with a knowledge check, then a final test with an 80% pass mark and unlimited free retakes.

1. How electricity harms and where the dangers are. Voltage, current and resistance in plain words. Electric shock, burns, arcing, fire and explosion, and the factors that make a shock worse. Common hazards: damaged cables and plugs, overloaded sockets and adaptors, wet or dusty conditions, trailing leads, DIY repairs and work near overhead and buried services.
2. Electricity and the law. The Electricity at Work Regulations 1989, the duty to prevent danger and the meaning of so far as is reasonably practicable. Who the regulations cover, including employees and the self employed. HSE guidance HSR25, HSG85 and INDG236, and how the Health and Safety at Work Act and PUWER apply to electrical equipment.
3. Protection, user checks and maintenance. How fuses, miniature circuit breakers, residual current devices, earthing, double insulation and reduced voltage protect people. User checks before each use, formal visual inspections and combined inspection and testing of portable equipment, sensible frequencies based on risk, labelling, taking faulty items out of use and keeping records.
4. Working safely and emergencies. Safe use of extension leads, adaptors and equipment in wet or outdoor conditions. Isolating equipment before cleaning or clearing a blockage, and what a non-electrician must not attempt. What to do if someone is shocked, electrical fires and the right extinguisher, and reporting under RIDDOR.

By the end you can explain how electricity injures the body, spot the common electrical hazards in ordinary workplaces, describe what the Electricity at Work Regulations require of you and your employer, explain how protective devices work, carry out a visual user check of a plug, cable and appliance, recognise when equipment needs a formal inspection or test by a competent person, and give the right first response to an electric shock, burn or electrical fire.

The law and guidance it is written around

• Electricity at Work Regulations 1989 (England, Wales and Scotland). Employers, the self employed and employees must prevent danger from electricity so far as is reasonably practicable. Systems must be constructed and maintained to prevent danger, work near live conductors must be controlled, and no one may do work that needs technical knowledge or experience unless they have it or are properly supervised. Northern Ireland has the same rules in the Electricity at Work Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1991.
• HSE HSR25: Memorandum of guidance on the Electricity at Work Regulations 1989 (Great Britain). The HSE's official guidance on each regulation, including maintenance, working near live equipment and competence.
• HSE HSG85: Electricity at work, safe working practices (Great Britain). Guidance for managers and supervisors on planning electrical work, isolating equipment, proving it is dead and deciding who is competent to do what. It makes clear that live working is only justified in narrow circumstances.
• HSE INDG236: Maintaining portable electric equipment in low-risk environments (Great Britain). Short guidance on user checks, formal visual inspections and when combined inspection and testing is needed. It makes clear that the law does not require a fixed testing interval; frequency should be based on risk.
• Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, section 2 (England, Wales and Scotland). Employers must provide and maintain safe plant and systems of work, and the information, instruction, training and supervision needed to keep employees safe, so far as is reasonably practicable. Northern Ireland has the same duty in the Health and Safety at Work (Northern Ireland) Order 1978.

How Lift College compares with other UK providers

Details below are as each provider shows them on its own course page, checked 27 October 2026. "Check provider" means the page did not state it.

With Lift College, £19.99 is the full price for one learner, pay once with no subscription, and the refresher is free when your recommended refresh date arrives. Retakes of the final test are free and unlimited.

Who it suits

Electrical Safety Training is for people who use or look after electrical equipment at work but are not electricians, in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. It is for you if:

• you use electrical equipment at work in an office, shop, kitchen, warehouse, care setting, salon or on site
• you supervise or manage a workplace and are responsible for the equipment in it
• you are a facilities, caretaking, cleaning or maintenance worker who is not an electrician
• you want to understand what user checks, inspections and portable appliance testing your workplace needs
• you need to know what to do if someone receives an electric shock or an electrical fire starts

Electrical faults start fires, so see our fire safety guide for what to do when one starts. For the wider duties at work, see our health and safety guide, and for spotting and recording risks our risk assessment guide. See every course on the health and safety courses page or browse all Lift College CPD courses. Buying for a team? Open a free organisation account: every course is £16.99, and you can pay by card or invoice with your PO.

Enrol on Electrical Safety Training for £19.99 and start the moment you pay, on any device. Ask within 14 days of paying and we refund you in full.