As a result of the BS EN 365 legislation companies must now test or re-test their safety systems annually, failure to do so, as well as compromising on the safety of employees, will also mean that your company could be held responsible if an accident occurs.
Rather than a logistical nightmare, bs en 365 should be seen as an oppourtunity to test the integrity of your safety systems and ensure that they are able to meet the particular challenges of on site health and safety, as well as checking that they have not suffered degradation, perhaps after a spell of severe weather.
In fact, even if your safety equipment has not been used in the year it should also be subject to inspection, and labelled with a tag following the recertification. That way, if you you do fall under inspection by the HSE, it will be clear that your fall arrest systems have been recertified.
Failure to do this, as well as putting your employees at risk, could also invalidate your insurances, as it is now a feature of insurance policies that they will not pay out of regulations have been compromised.
As the HSE is set to visit small construction sites all across London, it really is imperative that all of your documentation is up to date, and meets bs en 365 legislation, otherwise you could face a prohibition notice. In fact, of the 25% of inspected sites served with a prohibition notice by the HSE, a large proportion was due to non-adherence to safety legislation.