The Legal Position
The Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998, known as PUWER, apply to all employers and self-employed people in the United Kingdom. Regulation 5 of PUWER requires that work equipment is maintained in an efficient state, in efficient working order, and in good repair.
Roller shutters on commercial premises are work equipment within the meaning of PUWER. This means every commercial business that has a roller shutter, retail, hospitality, industrial, office, logistics, or any other type, is legally required to maintain that shutter in a safe and serviceable condition.
PUWER maintenance obligations are a legal requirement, not a best-practice suggestion. Failure to comply can result in enforcement action by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), invalidate your commercial insurance, and create personal liability for business owners and directors in the event of an incident involving an unmaintained shutter.
What PUWER Requires in Practice
PUWER does not specify how often roller shutters must be serviced, but it requires that maintenance is carried out:
- To a schedule appropriate for the equipment and its use
- To a standard that keeps the equipment in efficient and safe working order
- By a competent person, meaning someone with the appropriate skills, knowledge, and experience
For most commercial roller shutters in normal use, annual servicing by a qualified engineer meets this requirement. High-use shutters, particularly on industrial premises that operate multiple cycles per day, should be serviced more frequently, typically bi-annually.
What Maintenance Records Must You Keep?
Regulation 6 of PUWER requires that a maintenance log is kept for work equipment where the safe operation of that equipment depends on maintenance conditions being met. In practice, this means you should keep a written record of:
- When each service or maintenance visit took place
- What was inspected and what work was carried out
- Who carried out the work and their qualifications
- Any recommendations made and what action was taken
Shutter Repairs Essex provides a comprehensive written service report after every maintenance visit. This report covers all components inspected, all work carried out, and any recommendations. It is designed to satisfy PUWER record-keeping requirements and is accepted by commercial insurers as evidence of compliant maintenance.
Insurance Implications
Commercial property insurance policies typically require that security and access equipment is properly maintained. The specific wording varies by policy, but most contain clauses that allow insurers to reduce or refuse claims where equipment has not been maintained to a reasonable standard.
If your premises suffers a break-in through a shutter that has not been serviced and has known faults, your insurer may investigate whether those faults contributed to the breach. A servicing record from an accredited contractor is your evidence that the equipment was maintained. Without it, you may face a reduced settlement or a contested claim.
Every Shutter Repairs Essex service visit covers: full visual inspection of curtain, slats, guide rails, bottom rail, and hood; spring tension check and adjustment; motor thermal inspection; limit switch check and calibration; lubrication of all moving components; control system and safety feature test; written service report suitable for PUWER records.
We offer annual and bi-annual maintenance contracts for single premises and multi-site operations across Essex. Priority emergency response is included with all maintenance contracts.
Fire Shutters: Additional Obligations
If your premises has fire shutters, shutters designed to close automatically in the event of a fire to compartmentalise a building, these are subject to additional maintenance requirements under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 as well as PUWER. Fire shutters must be regularly tested, maintained by a competent engineer, and records kept of all testing and maintenance.
Failure to maintain fire shutters can constitute a serious breach of fire safety legislation, with significant potential consequences for business owners and directors.
Setting Up a Compliant Maintenance Contract
The simplest way to meet your PUWER obligations is to set up a planned maintenance contract with a qualified, accredited contractor. Our maintenance contracts cover:
- Scheduled service visits at the interval appropriate for your shutter usage
- Full written service reports after each visit
- Priority emergency call-out between service visits
- Maintenance log management, we track the service history for you
For more information on our servicing contracts, see our Shutter Servicing & Maintenance page or call us to discuss your specific requirements.