80% Of Telescopic Ladders Sold Online Fail Safety Regulations 

17 June 2022

LADDER SAFETY

New research by the Ladder Association has found that a staggering amount of unsafe and potentially dangerous ladders are being sold to unsuspecting consumers in the UK.

While there are manufacturers producing ladders that meet the safety standards, the study showed that a significant number of ladders available on the market – and sold by some of the country’s biggest online and trade retailers – fall well below basic safety requirements. Many of these ladders appear fit for purpose and some are even reported to display fake labelling, giving customers false assurance.

Produced in partnership with the East of England Trading Standards Association (EETSA) and Suffolk Trading Standards Imports Team, the report found that over 80% of commercially available telescopic ladders tested in the study failed to meet the minimum safety requirements designed to keep users safe. The research also found that over half of the failed ladders were certified and sold as ‘compliant’ to standards such as CE marking, in a deliberate attempt to mislead consumers.

Telescopic leaning ladders, according to the Ladder Association, has become more popular in recent years, partly because they require a small storage space compared to other types of ladders; they’re lightweight and compact, and are adjustable in size and working height. To guarantee user safety, they should be produced to comply with the requirements of EN 131-6 (known in the UK as BS EN 131 Part 6:2019). It was against the most critical requirements of this standard that the sample products were tested at the UKAS accredited independent Test & Research Centre in Soham.

Working at height can increase the risk to a person’s safety, without the additional danger of a faulty ladder – according to the Ladder Association, every 11 minutes in the UK, someone attends A&E after sustaining an injury involving a ladder. A fall from height can cause life changing injuries, and in some cases, can even be fatal.

“The evidence we have found of unsafe ladders being retailed in the UK is astounding. The majority of telescopic ladders we tested did not meet the minimum safety requirements designed to keep users safe. These ladders are dangerous and have the potential to cause serious injury. Retailers have a legal and moral duty to consumer safety, and it is vital that they carry out due diligence to ensure that products are safe, particularly when they have been imported to the UK from an unknown manufacturer. We hope our research conducted in partnership with Trading Standards and Suffolk County Council gives both consumers and retailers an increased awareness around the issue and encourages them to exercise caution when sourcing ladders.”

Please click hear to see HSE guidance on safe use of ladders and stepladders.

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