Without a doubt, we are living through unprecedented times, with much uncertainty in the business world. As you know, PATTA is the trade organisation for PAT Testing Companies in the UK and we represent the interests of all of our members and others in the PAT Testing Industry.

If you have PAT Testing booked to be carried out in the next few weeks you may be thinking about closing your workplace, and it is natural to instantly cancel all appointments. Many of our members are reporting that much of their booked work has been cancelled. However, we would like to ask you to perhaps think again?

Getting your PAT Testing done whilst the workplace is quiet is definitely a good idea – it minimises disruption, and PAT Testing can be carried on without any involvement of your staff – as long as there is someone to let the engineer in and out! It also means that when you restart your business, you’ll have peace of mind knowing that everything is safe- the first few weeks after the restart may well turn out to be very busy; and having your PAT Testing carried out in the shutdown is a very good idea. It goes without saying that all of our members are able to taking sensible precautions to minimise any risks whilst they are working, including use of hand sanitisers, wiping down equipment etc and wearing PPE where appropriate.

Also, it’s fair to point out that the vast majority of PAT Testing companies in the UK are small businesses with 1 or 2 employees – many are sole traders. Even the big national companies employ self-employed engineers, and having this much work cancelled is causing many of our members to suffer. So, if you can proceed with the work in this uncertain time, you’ll be really helping out a small business that really needs the work and the income.

Finally if you’re an accounts person working from home and you have an invoice on your desk from a PAT Testing company (or any other businesses for that matter) please think about paying it now, rather than waiting till it’s overdue? Many small businesses are very worried at the moment and your BACs payment could make the difference between a business staying open or people losing their jobs.

Thanks for reading.

Tim James, Standards Director