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Regulation · Operational restriction

UK Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 (PUWER): duties on businesses that use robots as work equipment

SI 1998/2306 came into force on 5 December 1998. It places duties on people and companies that own, operate or control work equipment, and on those who provide it for others' use. Work equipment includes any machinery or installation used at work, and use includes starting, stopping, programming, repairing and maintaining.

Equipment must be suitable, maintained, inspected where safety depends on installation, guarded against dangerous parts, fitted with safe controls and isolation, and used only by people with adequate information and training. Regulations 25 to 30 add duties for mobile work equipment; HSE guidance says remote-controlled self-propelled equipment must stop safely and automatically if it leaves its control range and be protected against crushing or impact with people.

When providing new machinery, users must check it carries conformity marking, a declaration of conformity and English instructions; supplier marking does not end the user's duty. Status: in force (Great Britain). Applicability: any business deploying humanoids, AMRs or cobots in a GB workplace must meet PUWER for that equipment. Verified on 2026-10-26.

Jurisdiction: United Kingdom · Effective 1998-12-05

Machine-readable surfaces

Sources (4)

  1. The Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 (SI 1998/2306) · https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1998/2306/contents
  2. PUWER 1998, regulation 1: citation and commencement · https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1998/2306/regulation/1/made
  3. PUWER overview · https://www.hse.gov.uk/work-equipment-machinery/puwer-overview.htm
  4. Mobile work equipment · https://www.hse.gov.uk/work-equipment-machinery/mobile.htm

Common questions

What does UK Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 (PUWER): duties on businesses that use robots as work equipment cover?
SI 1998/2306 came into force on 5 December 1998. It places duties on people and companies that own, operate or control work equipment, and on those who provide it for others' use. Work equipment includes any machinery or installation used at work, and use includes starting, stopping, programming, repairing and maintaining. Equipment must be suitable, maintained, inspected where safety depends on installation, guarded against dangerous parts, fitted with safe controls and isolation, and used only by people with adequate information and training. Regulations 25 to 30 add duties for mobile work equipment; HSE guidance says remote-controlled self-propelled equipment must stop safely and automatically if it leaves its control range and be protected against crushing or impact with people. When providing new machinery, users must check it carries conformity marking, a declaration of conformity and English instructions; supplier marking does not end the user's duty. Status: in force (Great Britain). Applicability: any business deploying humanoids, AMRs or cobots in a GB workplace must meet PUWER for that equipment. Verified on 2026-10-26.
Where does UK Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 (PUWER): duties on businesses that use robots as work equipment apply?
UK Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 (PUWER): duties on businesses that use robots as work equipment is recorded as a operational_restriction applying in United Kingdom on the DEPLOY registry.
When did UK Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 (PUWER): duties on businesses that use robots as work equipment take effect?
UK Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 (PUWER): duties on businesses that use robots as work equipment is recorded as effective December 5, 1998 on the DEPLOY registry.
Is UK Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 (PUWER): duties on businesses that use robots as work equipment still in effect?
UK Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 (PUWER): duties on businesses that use robots as work equipment is currently in effect and applies to covered operators in the named jurisdiction.
What types of robots does UK Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 (PUWER): duties on businesses that use robots as work equipment apply to?
UK Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 (PUWER): duties on businesses that use robots as work equipment is recorded as applying to humanoid robots, quadruped robots, service robots and 3 other form factors on the DEPLOY registry.
Which robot models on the DEPLOY registry fall under UK Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 (PUWER): duties on businesses that use robots as work equipment?
8 robot models on the DEPLOY registry match the form-factor scope of UK Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 (PUWER): duties on businesses that use robots as work equipment: 10Beauty Manicure System, 3D Tissue Braiding Platform, 4NE-1, 7 Series DPO Oscilloscope and 4 others. Form-factor scope match does not by itself establish compliance status; review the underlying primary sources for each operator.
Methodology: Unreviewed · 4 sources (no primary) · last reviewed 2026-10-26

Verification posture

Unreviewed

Low confidence

Review state

Stable

Last reviewed 2026-10-26

Architectural position

Cohort: humanoid

Sources by quality tier

4
unclassified
Unclassified source

The framework is documented at /methodology. Corrections at /corrections. Reviewer: DEPLOY editorial team.

Methodology surface for UK Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 (PUWER): duties on businesses that use robots as work equipment.

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