P.A.T. Electrical Safety Testing

it is now a legal requirement for musicians (Licensing Act, 2003) to have annual Electrical safety tests on their amps and PA gear.  All work that we advertise comes with the following prerequisites:

Some venues want to see the artists PAT certificates in advance - otherwise the musician will not be allowed to perform on the day.  We would urge you to get PAT testing done as soon as possible.  Ideally, if you can send us photocopies or email scanned images of the documents, we will hold them on file for our own records. 

Furthermore, our contracts state in section 2 of the terms, that it is your responsibility to hold this cover, not ours:

The Artist hereby agrees to declare any fees for engagement to HM Inspector of Taxes and will for the purpose of this Contract will be deemed to be self-employed, and offers an assurance that he/they possesses Public Liability insurance and holds a current P.A.T. electrical safety certificate for all his/her equipment.

So the emphasis is on you to obtain it.  If you sign one of our contracts, you are declaring these things to be in place at the time.

The law is usually 1 year exemption, but I would always carry proof of purchase if you take a new amp to a venue, just in case you get asked for evidence of either PAT or proof of exemption - you never know...and the potential upset to the bride and other things such as being sued for 'damages' is not worth risking if you get refused by an event manager on the day of the gig. (This has happened!)

This is why the Agency has to protect itself by writing these PAT and PLI clauses into the booking contracts. It's due mainly to the Compensation Culture that we live in these days.

It's good to send the Agency copies of your PAT and PLI so that we can vouch for you if ever a new customer asks. It gives them added confidence in you as a professional artist.