What is PPE? Five Vital PPE Facts All Employers Need to Know

PPE, short for Personal Protective Equipment, is equipment designed to minimise the risk of injury in the workplace such as hardhats, goggles and protective gloves. It is possible that your employees may not need PPE but, if they do, it is absolutely vital that you provide them with it.

Sadly, far too many employers ignore their responsibilities, leaving their employees more likely to suffer an injury and leaving themselves open to substantial fines or compensatory payouts. In short, failing to provide your employees with the PPE they need to stay safe is little more than a false economy.

With this in mind, here are five things all employers need to know about PPE:

1. PPE is not your first option

If your employees will be working in an environment where there is an increased risk of injury, don’t think that PPE alone will be enough to keep you compliant.

Before you even consider providing employees with PPE, you need to undertake risk assessments and make alterations or adjustments designed to make their working environments safer wherever possible. It is only when the working environment cannot be made safe through adjustments that PPE should be issued and used.

2. You must provide the correct equipment

Following risk assessments having been conducted, you’ll be able to determine what PPE your employees require. Do not be tempted to try to find cheaper alternatives; it is essential that any equipment you provide is entirely fit for purpose and, ultimately, it’s better in this instance to over than underinvest.

3. You must foot the bill

If an employee needs specific equipment to do their job safely, you must not only ensure that they are provided with it, but must pay for it too. Whilst it’s all too common for businesses throughout the UK to tell their employees that they must purchase their own equipment, this represents a breach of regulations and could land you a fine.

4. PPE must be supplemented with training

It may be frustrating but, to ensure compliance, you must also provide your employees with regular health and safety training. This training needs to inform employees of why they require PPE and how to use it correctly. If such training is not provided, employees could argue that, as they did not know how to use or store the equipment correctly, that they were not adequately protected at work. Something which could have serious ramifications for your business.

5. PPE must be maintained

All PPE must be stored correctly and regularly tested. In the event that PPE is not treated correctly, it can become ineffective leaving you open to potential claims of negligence. This can be avoided by not only training the appropriate individuals on how to store their PPE correctly and by undertaking regular testing, but by also keeping replacement parts and spares on-site at all times.