I switched the trip switch off, yes, and after checking the units were no longer operational, I removed them.
I'm obviously missing something important here - I have no wish to injure myself.
What more should I do if I wish to change light fittings or remove redundant static equipment other than switch off the power?
Yes.
If you switched the trip switch off and the units are no longer operational then that is a good indication in so far as it goes, but not foolproof as some will attest (and unfortunately some can not attest).
It does happen that , for various reasons, the circuit can still be live or made live by some other means, that does happen now and again, so again not foolproof (The scenario known as "Borrowed Neutral" ins one reason).
Another problem is that sometimes, by mistake, someone has put a switch, tripswitch (such as an MCB) fuse etc into the N conductor rather than the Line conductor. The unit will stop working because it is switched off, indeed if a fuse or a breaker it will still give overload protection if in the N rather than the L.
But it is still LIve to touch so it could be at Line voltage or somewhere approaching that voltage and could still hurt/kill you.
One mistake and you could suddenly be startled by your own mortality!.
Disconnecting both L & N should not only stop the unit working but making it safer against L/N reversal and borrowed N scenario.
Most electricians will tell you that they have come across such instances a fe times (or many) in their working lives, not many will never have come across them, the potential is there to harm you so best avoided.
