Personal protective equipment at work (Third edition)
This guidance is primarily for employers and relevant self-employed persons but may also be useful for employees and those selecting PPE.
The key messages are:
- it is essential that employers put in place all necessary safe systems of work, control measures and engineering solutions so that use of PPE is minimised
- where PPE is needed it must be the most appropriate for the identified risk and should only be issued where it further reduces the level of risk
- PPE is a safeguard of last resort since it only protects the individual wearer
Changes to the guidance since the last edition:
- it has been updated to clarify the requirement after the repeal of the Construction (Head Protection) Regulations 1989
- it details changes to the provisions for head protection for turban wearing Sikhs following an amendment to the Employment Act 1989
- it details changes required due to an amendment to Section 3(2) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 relating to self-employed persons
Update
In 2016, there was a minor change to the guidance in paragraph 101, providing updated examples of where the visibility of workers may be important.
