Restricted and Controlled Electrical Works
The distinction that drives most questions
'Controlled' and 'restricted' work are not synonyms. Controlled work is work that must be notified to the regulator and certified - typically new circuits, consumer unit/DB changes, work in special locations (bathrooms, kitchens, outdoors), and anything involving a new supply. Restricted work is work that only a registered/authorised person may legally carry out or certify. Some tasks are notifiable; some are minor and need no notification but still need a minor works certificate. Learn to sort scenarios into: notifiable controlled work, non-notifiable but certified minor work, and work anyone competent may do (e.g. replacing a like-for-like accessory, changing a lamp).
Who may do what
An unregistered person may generally do non-notifiable minor work but may not certify controlled work or issue the compliance documents. A registered contractor must ensure the person actually doing the work is competent and that certification is by an authorised signatory. The trap is a scenario where an unregistered 'handyman' does controlled work and the registered contractor signs off without supervising - that is non-compliant.
Special locations and higher-risk work
Bathrooms, shower rooms, swimming pools, saunas, agricultural and construction sites, and caravan/camping sites attract stricter rules and are usually treated as controlled/notifiable. Work on a new or changed supply, or involving a new earthing arrangement, also needs notification.
Traps
Assuming 'minor' means 'uncertified' - minor work still gets a minor works certificate. Assuming notification is optional. Confusing building-control notification with electrical certification - they are separate processes. Forgetting that changing a consumer unit is controlled even if no new circuit is added.
Rule of thumb: new circuit, new DB, special location, or new supply ⇒ controlled and notifiable; like-for-like replacement of an accessory ⇒ minor work, certified but not notifiable.
Safety, Complaints and Professional Conduct
Safety duties on site
The registered contractor carries a duty to work safely and to leave the installation safe. Core concepts: safe isolation (prove dead, lock off, prove the tester), risk assessment and method statements, PPE, permit-to-work for higher-risk tasks, and notifying the client of danger - if you find a dangerous defect while doing unrelated work, you must warn the client and record it, even if it is outside your remit. Questions test whether you would 'just note it and move on' (wrong) versus 'advise the client in writing and code it' (right).
Complaints and dispute handling
Know the complaint pathway: raise with the contractor first; if unresolved, escalate to the registration body/regulator, which can inspect, require remedial work, and ultimately suspend or revoke registration. Keep records - certificates, test results, correspondence, photographs. A proper complaints process is a condition of registration, and refusing to cooperate with an investigation is itself a breach. Consumer-protection rules may also apply (clear quotation, no misleading claims).
Professional conduct traps
- Certifying outside your competence - you may only sign for work you are competent in and have supervised.
- Pressure selling unnecessary rewires; misrepresenting a coded observation as 'immediately dangerous' to win work.
- Confidentiality of client information; conflicts of interest when you inspect your own work.
- Whistleblowing on unsafe work by others.
Worked example: you replace a socket and notice the main earthing conductor is missing. You must not simply complete the socket and leave; you record the defect, classify it as requiring immediate action, advise the client in writing, and make the installation safe or isolate the affected circuit.