Personal Protective Equipment

Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) is often seen as the first line of defence in protecting staff when in fact it should, as the regulations state, be the last. All too often, organisations feel the need to purchase often unnecessary PPE, wrongly thinking they are covering their statutory obligations. 

Risk Assessment requires employers to identify and assess the risks to health and safety present in the workplace, so enabling the most appropriate means of reducing those risks to an acceptable level, to be determined. Employers should therefore only provide PPE to their employees wherever there is a risk to health and safety that cannot be adequately controlled by other means. 

Staff must be trained in the correct use, storage, care and maintenance for the equipment issued to them. 

Caution: This statement gives basic information on health and safety. Please contact the Advice Line for specific advice. Contact Us.