Personal protective equipment

PPE, short for personal protective equipment, is equipment or clothing that protects against health and safety risks at work. Read our PPE risk management guide, to understand when you might need to introduce it.

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Legal requirements

If an employee, volunteer, or guest is injured or falls sick after an incident on your premises, you may need to show that you have met your duty of care.

As an employer you also must comply with specific health and safety laws like the Personal Protective Equipment at Work Regulations.

Under these regulations you need to provide:

Provide suitable PPE where required
Access the suitability of any PPE before use
Provide employees and volunteers with instructions on how to use PPE
Ensure PPE is used correctly
Ensure PPE is properly maintained and stored

Employers cannot charge for PPE in any circumstance.

Example conditions where PPE may be required:

Tasks where stones or other flying debris might occur
Harmful dust
Risk of falling materials or objects
Corrosive liquids that could splash in eyes
Chemicals or pesticides being used in maintenance work
Existing of discarded needles and drug paraphernalia
Hot pots, pans or other plates being used when preparing food

Further advice to ensure correct use of PPE

Make sure PPE is appropriate and suitable
Choose equipment that suits the wearer
Check PPE has the CE mark
Take account of wearer’s health
Maintain and store equipment properly
Provide information and instructions on how to use PPE
Replace damaged PPE promptly

Conducting a PPE risk assessment

Identify all tasks where the use of PPE may be required to protect people from danger
Make sure that all the PPE you provide is suitable
Make sure people know how to use PPE properly

Make sure that any PPE is properly maintained and stored
Document your arrangements and responsibilities for the use of PPE

Personal protective equipment

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