The Law states that it is your responsibility to make sure that all items you hire are safe. PAT testing (Portable Appliance Test) is now law for all electrical items that a business owns which are used by the public, customers, contractors and employees etc.
Put simply if your equipment is not PAT Tested and someone has an accident resulting from a faulty electrical item then you can end up in serious trouble – by PAT testing you cover yourselves, have peace of mind that the equipment is safe and no harm will come to any users. In many cases you will not be able to rent out inflatables at some client’s premises (possibly council, hotel, corporate etc) unless your equipment has a valid PAT test certificate.
So if you don’t have your items PAT tested and an accident happens, it will be very likely you would be prosecuted in court and possibly fined. Your insurance would not normally cover this as it would have been neglect not to have had the item tested. In the worse case you could be fined very severely which could result in you losing your home, car, etc.
The PAT testing should be carried out at least once a year.
The items that need to be tested are basically any item that has a plug, so for bouncy castle operators it would include all fans, extension leads, and any other electrical items that you use.
For the small price of a yearly PAT test, is it worth not to get it done!