The Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 apply to equipment provided for use at work, and a hired welfare unit with a generator qualifies. The regulation people miss: PUWER duties fall on the employer whose people use the equipment, hiring it does not transfer the duty to the hire company.
What PUWER expects of the user
- Suitability: equipment suitable for the task and conditions, a six-person unit for a six-person crew, sited as intended, outdoors
- Maintained in efficient working order: in a hire, delivered by the servicing regime, which is why blocking access to a scheduled service visit is not a scheduling nuisance but a compliance failure
- Information and instruction: everyone using the equipment must have adequate instruction, this is the legal weight behind the handover pack and our requirement that users are inducted on it before first use
- No unauthorised modification or repair: faults reported and the affected system taken out of use, not fixed with whatever is in the van
The practical split on a BOXD hire
We supply the unit tested and working, service and maintain it through the hire, and provide the user information and generic risk assessments. You ensure your people are inducted, the unit is used as intended, servicing access stays open, and faults are reported immediately, the same split written into our terms and summarised on the risk assessments page. Neither half works without the other, which is honestly PUWER’s whole point.
Plain-English summary, not legal advice. PUWER 1998 and HSE guidance are at hse.gov.uk.