Personal protective equipment

What is personal protective equipment?

Personal protective equipment (PPE) is any equipment that employees and workers wear or hold to protect them against any health and safety risks. These can include safety helmets, gloves, eye protection, high-visibility clothing, safety footwear and safety harnesses.

Which laws apply?

• The Personal Protective Equipment at Work Regulations 1992 (as amended by the Personal Protective Equipment at Work (Amendment) Regulations 2022)
• The Personal Protective Equipment at Work Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1993 (as amended by The Personal Protective Equipment at Work (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2024)

Since the regulations were amended, employers' duties to provide PPE have been extended to cover workers as well as employees.

Your responsibilities

You must make sure employees and workers use PPE wherever there are risks that can't be effectively controlled using other control measures. You have a legal responsibility to ensure that PPE is:

• Properly assessed for its suitability before use
• Maintained and stored properly
• Given with instructions on how to use it safely
• Used correctly
• Given to employees for free

Assessing the need for PPE

Carrying out a risk assessment will tell you whether you need to provide PPE.

However, you should first explore whether other, more effective control measures can be used to reduce health and safety risks. PPE should only be used as a last resort when there are no better options available.

The most effective way to control a risk is to remove the hazard completely. If that's not possible, the next best option is to replace it with something less dangerous. After that, you can use equipment or changes to the workplace to keep people away from the hazard or change the way people work to reduce the risk.

The least effective option is to use PPE which protects the individual but doesn't remove the hazard itself.

Assessing the suitability of PPE

When deciding if PPE is appropriate, you must consider whether it suits the specific hazard and working conditions, and whether it effectively controls the risk without making it worse.

You should also take into account how long the PPE will need to be worn, the physical effort required for the task, whether it can be properly adjusted to fit the wearer, and the health of those who will be using it.

If multiple pieces of PPE are used together, they must be compatible. Any PPE purchased must carry the CE or UKCA marking, indicating that it meets legal safety standards and, in some cases, has been tested and certified by an independent body.

Using PPE

Employees must be trained and instructed on why to use PPE and how to do so correctly. Regular checks should be carried out to ensure it is being used properly and when required.

The equipment should be kept clean and in good condition, following the manufacturer's guidance, and stored properly when not in use.

Staff must be informed when PPE requires repair or replacement. Suitable replacement PPE must always be readily available.

More information

The Health and Safety Executive has guidance available to help employers decide whether and what PPE their workforce may need.