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8. EnergySafe - Where it's got to
The following article has been provided by
the EnergySafe Service
As we begin the new year, it's time for an
update on the EnergySafe programme.
What is EnergySafe?
EnergySafe is programme to review and amend
the safety regime for electrical and gas work.
Main features of relevance to electrical workers
are:
- The Health and Safety in Employment Act
is to be more clearly the primary legislation
for safety in the workplace (but the required
standards to be met will still be set under
the Electricity Act).
- The licensing regime will continue for
most electrical work, but there will be greater
flexibility in defining licence categories and
stronger emphasis on licence holders maintaining
competence in the work they do.
- Certificates of Compliance will required
in more situations, but will be cheaper and
easier to complete.
Government made a number of decisions based
on EnergySafe in October 2001, and since then
a lot of work has been done on sorting out the
detail of legislation changes to implement the
decisions. There has been a delay in progressing
EnergySafe during the last year as other work
took priority, but we hope to make major progress
during this year.
Changes will be made through to the relevant
Acts through the "Energy Safety Review Bill"
Expect that Bill to be considered by Parliament
and submitted to the Select Committee process
during this year.
Registration and Licensing
Changes in the Wind
One of the changes proposed in the EnergySafe
programme is the removal of "Registration" as
a term recognised in law. Not surprisingly,
this has raised a lot of eyebrows. The following
looks at how the EnergySafe proposal is intended
to change the use of the terms "registration"
and "licensing" for electrical workers, explains
why the changes are being made, and what it
will mean for workers and the public.
Background
Under the current law, in general people
doing gasfitting, plumbing, drainlaying and
prescribed electrical work must currently be
both registered and licensed by the Plumbers
Gasfitters and Drainlayers Board or the Electrical
Workers Registration Board respectively. (There
are some exceptions, but they are not relevant
to the registration / licensing question.)
To become registered, the applicant must
demonstrate competence, through having relevant
qualifications and experience. It is an important
recognition of the person's competence, and
(with few exceptions) once registered, a person
remains registered for life.
Workers must also hold a current licence,
which acknowledges the holder is up to date
in their competencies.
Changes planned through EnergySafe
"Licensing" will be the focus
The main purpose of the law controlling gas,
plumbing, drainlaying and electrical work is
to provide protection for consumers against
any incompetent workers. Consumers need to be
able to clearly identify workers who have been
recognised as competent.
In addition, EnergySafe will increase the
importance of current competence - that workers
are up to date with developments in equipment,
techniques, Standards, and the law. This will,
in turn, increase the importance of the licence
as the recognition of current competence.
For these reasons EnergySafe is placing the
focus on licensing, rather than registration,
as the means of recognising competent workers
and authorising them to practise their trade.
The concept of "registered" will be removed
from legislation to provide consumers with clarity
around the term "licensed".
Concerns relating to the removal of the term
"registration"
When the idea of removing "registration"
was first proposed, many people raised concerns
and the proposals have been changed as a result
of those concerns. These are the main points
that were raised.
What if a licence lapses?
There would be a real concern if registration
information were not retained, and a worker
whose licence had lapsed had to "start all over
again".
The legislation will however ensure that
information on workers who have been registered,
and workers who have been licensed, will be
retained.
The two Boards will be required to keep a
register of:
- those currently licensed,
- those who have been previously licensed,
- those previously registered or otherwise
recognised as entitled to gain a licence (subject
to evidence of current competence).
This record will ensure that, for example,
any person who does not hold a licence for a
period (e.g. because they have been working
in a different field) will still have their
previous qualifications recognised if they apply
for a new licence. (They may however still need
to update their competencies before receiving
the new licence.)
Recognition of previous registration
There has been considerable concern that
removal of registration would mean taking away
a hard-won qualification (akin to a degree).
Original EnergySafe proposals were amended
following this concern, so that although "registration"
will no longer be a formally recognised status
in the legislation, people who have been registered
in the past may still commonly be referred to
as 'registered'. The respective Boards may choose
to recognise the attainment of a person's first
licence by issuing an appropriate certificate,
and the EWRB has already been looking into this.
The fact that a person has attained registration
as an electrical worker will remain, just as
the attainment of School Certificate remains
even though School Certificate is no longer
available as a qualification.
(Note however that it would be an offence,
as it is now, to do work that requires a licence
without holding a licence, and it would be illegal
to misrepresent one's authority to do work.)
Transition period
It will be necessary to ensure that there
is time to make any changes necessitated by
the removal of the term "registration" from
the law. For example, in some instances, the
registration status of a person may be written
into documents that will need to be amended.
For this reason, a 12 month transition period
is to be proposed, during which the term "registration"
will continue to be recognised in the law.
Consistency with the Building Act
Proposed amendments to the Building Act will
introduce occupational licensing for some classes
of building practitioners.
In these cases, the term "licensing" will
also be used, with licences lapsing after specified
periods and new licences subject to current
competency requirements. The regime under the
Building Act will not provide for any "recognition
for life" as registration has done under the
Plumbing, Gasfitting and Drainlaying Act and
the Electricity Act.
To provide clarity for consumers, the regime
under the Building Act, Electricity Act, and
Plumbers Gasfitters and Drainlayers Act will
all use consistent terminology for competence
requirements for workers.
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