PPE is defined as ‘all equipment (including clothing affording protection against the weather) which is intended to be worn or held by a person at work and which protects the person against one or more risks to that person’s health or safety, and any addition or accessory designed to meet that objective.
Where an employer finds PPE to be necessary after a risk assessment, using the hierarchy of controls explained below, they have a duty to provide it free of charge
Hierarchy of controls
PPE should be regarded as the last resort to protect against risks to health and safety. Engineering controls and safe systems of work should be considered first.
Consider controls in the following order, with elimination being the most effective and PPE being the least effective:
Elimination– physically remove the hazard
Substitution– replace the hazard
Engineering controls– isolate people from the hazard
Administrative controls– change the way people work
PPE – protect the worker with personal protective equipment