Is LOLER a Legal Requirement? Your Duties Under the Regulations

If you run a business with lifting equipment, you have probably wondered whether LOLER is something you genuinely have to do, or just industry best practice you can put off. It is a fair question, and getting it wrong is expensive. Here is a straight answer on whether LOLER is a legal requirement, what the law actually asks of you, and what happens if you ignore it.

In South England? Request an exact quote for LOLER inspection ➜

Scissor lift and cherry picker, both covered by LOLER

Is LOLER a Legal Requirement?

Yes. LOLER is a legal requirement. The Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998 are UK law, made under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 and enforced by the Health and Safety Executive. If your business owns, operates or controls lifting equipment used at work, compliance is not optional.

It applies regardless of how big or small you are. A single forklift in a small workshop is covered by the same regulations as a fleet of cranes. This is not advisory guidance you can choose to follow. It is statutory.

What the Law Actually Requires

The regulations place a clear legal duty on you. In practice, you must make sure that:

• Lifting equipment is strong, stable and fit for the task it is used for

• It is positioned and installed to reduce the risk to people and loads

• It is clearly marked with its safe working load

• Lifting operations are planned and supervised by a competent person

• The equipment is thoroughly examined by a competent person at the required intervals

• Records of those examinations are kept, and any defects are reported

The part most businesses overlook is the thorough examination. In our experience, a lot of owners assume their annual service covers it. It does not. A service keeps the machine running. A thorough examination is a separate, legally required safety check carried out by a competent person, with a dated report at the end.

Who Is Legally Responsible?

The duty sits with the duty holder, which the HSE defines as anyone who owns, operates or has control over lifting equipment used at work. In most businesses that means the owner or the person responsible for health and safety.

It does not matter whether you own the kit outright or hire it in. If it is on your site and your people are using it, the responsibility for making sure it has a valid examination is yours. We see hired-in equipment slip through the cracks more often than anything else, usually because everyone assumes someone else has it covered.

How Often Does the Law Require Examination?

The required intervals depend on what the equipment lifts:

• Every 6 months for equipment that lifts people, and for lifting accessories such as slings and chains

• Every 12 months for all other lifting equipment

• In line with a written scheme of examination, where a competent person has drawn one up

So a passenger lift or a MEWP comes round twice a year, while a forklift used only for goods is typically annual. Miss the date and the equipment should be taken out of use until it has been examined.

What Happens If You Ignore LOLER?

Because LOLER is law, the consequences of ignoring it are real. The HSE has the power to issue improvement notices and prohibition notices, and to prosecute in serious cases. You can read the enforcement position in the HSE's LOLER guidance. Fines for breaches can be significant, and in cases involving serious harm, individual duty holders have faced prison.

In our experience, though, the more immediate risk for most businesses is the insurer. If a piece of equipment fails and there is no valid examination report, you can find yourself uninsured and personally liable for the fallout. A lapsed certificate is one of the first things an insurer or inspector will check.

Is LOLER Ever Not Required?

LOLER only applies to lifting equipment used at work. Equipment used purely privately, with no work activity involved, falls outside it. There are also a few items that move people or goods continuously, such as escalators and some conveyors, that are not classed as lifting equipment under LOLER.

Those exceptions are narrow, though. For the vast majority of businesses with anything that lifts or lowers a load, LOLER applies, and treating it as a legal obligation rather than an optional extra is the safe assumption.

In South England? Request an exact quote for LOLER inspection ➜

LOLER Is the Law, Not a Recommendation

The honest answer to the question is short: yes, LOLER is a legal requirement, and the duty to get it right lands on you as the duty holder.

The straightforward part is knowing that. The practical part is keeping every piece of equipment examined on time and the paperwork in order, which is what keeps you compliant, insured and on the right side of the HSE.