Key points
- Personal protective equipment is anything worn or held at work to protect against risks, including weather clothing.
- HSE’s guidance treats PPE as the last resort, after controls that protect everyone.
- Employers must provide suitable PPE and cannot charge workers for it (regulations 3A and 4).
- Since 6 April 2022 the duties cover limb (b) workers as well as employees.
- Workers must use PPE as trained and report any loss or obvious defect (regulations 10 and 11).
What counts as personal protective equipment?
Regulation 2(1) defines PPE 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 them against one or more risks to their health or safety, including any addition or accessory designed for that purpose. For example, HSE lists safety helmets, gloves, eye and hearing protection, high-visibility clothing, safety footwear, harnesses and respirators.
What is not covered?
Regulation 3 leaves out the following.
- Ordinary working clothes and uniforms that do not specifically protect health and safety.
- Offensive weapons used for self-defence or as a deterrent.
- Portable devices for detecting and signalling risks.
- Equipment for protection while travelling on a road, and equipment used in competitive sport.
- The master and crew of a sea-going ship.
Other laws also take over in some cases. Where the rules on lead, ionising radiation, asbestos, COSHH or noise require PPE for a risk, those rules apply instead.
Who must provide PPE, and can employers charge for it?
The employer. Regulation 4 asks every employer to give suitable PPE to workers who face a risk. The only exception is where other steps already control that risk just as well. Suitable means right for the risk and “capable of fitting the wearer correctly”. It also has to work as well as is practicable.
Employers cannot charge for it. Regulation 3A applies the duty not to charge to workers. HSE’s guidance adds storage, upkeep, replacement, cleaning and training too. Where the site an agency worker attends hands out PPE, the employer or agency still remains responsible.
What changed in 2022?
An amendment to the personal protective equipment rules came into force on 6 April 2022. It extended the duties in regulations 4 to 11 from employees to workers. Limb (a) workers have a contract of employment, and the Regulations already covered them. Limb (b) workers do the work themselves under a contract, often casual work. They are not in business on their own account. The Regulations now cover them too.
However, the change does not affect genuinely self-employed people. Only a court or tribunal can decide a person’s status.
What employers must do, regulation by regulation
| Regulation | What it requires | In practice |
|---|---|---|
| 4 | Provision Suitable PPE provided to workers exposed to a risk not adequately controlled by other means, issued personally where hygiene requires. | Choose PPE that fits each wearer. |
| 5 | Compatibility Where more than one item is worn at once, the items work together and each stays effective. | Check that goggles and a respirator fit together. |
| 6 | Assessment Before choosing PPE, assess the risks it must protect against, the characteristics it needs and the options available; review it when it may no longer be valid. | Record why each item was chosen. |
| 7 | Maintenance and replacement Kept in an efficient state, in efficient working order and in good repair, including cleaning and replacement. | Set inspection and replacement routines. |
| 8 | Accommodation Appropriate storage when the PPE is not in use. | Lockers, cases or hooks away from contamination. |
| 9 | Information and training Information, instruction and training on the risks, the purpose and use of the PPE and its upkeep, in a form people understand. | Demonstrate fitting and checks. |
| 10 | Use Employers take all reasonable steps to make sure PPE is properly used; workers use it as trained and return it to storage. | Supervise use on site. |
| 11 | Reporting loss or defect Workers report any loss or obvious defect straight away. | Make reporting and replacement quick. |
Is personal protective equipment a last resort?
Yes. HSE’s guidance on the Regulations says “PPE should be regarded as the last resort to protect against risks to health and safety”. Safer equipment and safe ways of working come first. After all, PPE only protects the person wearing it, and only when it fits. The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 agree. Their principles put protection for everyone before protection for one person.
What training do the PPE Regulations require?
Regulation 9 asks for information, instruction and training. It covers the risks the PPE limits, how to use it and how to keep it in good repair. Workers must be able to understand it, and employers must organise demonstrations where appropriate.
The course below covers choosing, using and caring for personal protective equipment. Learners can also take every course in 50 languages, so every worker can follow it.
Courses that cover the PPE at Work Regulations 1992
This ProCompliance course names the PPE at Work Regulations 1992 as its governing framework. It is the training this law asks for. It also states its own accreditation, so you can check it before you buy.
What must workers do?
Regulation 10 asks every worker to use personal protective equipment as trained. They also put it back in its storage after use. In addition, regulation 11 asks them to report “any loss of or obvious defect” in their PPE straight away.
How are the PPE Regulations enforced?
HSE enforces the PPE at Work Regulations in factories, building sites, farms and similar workplaces. Local authorities enforce it in offices, shops, hotels and leisure premises. Inspectors often give advice first. They can also issue an improvement notice, which sets a deadline to put something right. For serious risks, a prohibition notice stops the activity at once.
Breaking the PPE at Work Regulations is a criminal offence. It falls under section 33 of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. In the Crown Court, the penalty can reach an unlimited fine, two years in prison, or both.
PPE and other workplace law
- Against hazardous substances, COSHH 2002 covers PPE and respirators.
- Hearing protection falls under the Control of Noise at Work Regulations 2005.
- Harnesses and fall protection follow the Work at Height Regulations 2005.
- The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 require the risk assessment that shows where PPE is needed.
Official sources
- The Personal Protective Equipment at Work Regulations 1992, full text (legislation.gov.uk)
- Regulation 4, provision of PPE (legislation.gov.uk)
- The PPE at Work (Amendment) Regulations 2022 (legislation.gov.uk)
- PPE at work overview (HSE)
- The 2022 changes (HSE)
- L25, Personal protective equipment at work: Guidance on Regulations (HSE)
Common questions
Can employers charge for PPE?
No. Regulation 3A applies the legal duty not to charge to workers. HSE’s guidance adds storage, upkeep, replacement, cleaning and training as well.
Who must provide PPE at work?
The employer, wherever the risk assessment shows a risk that other measures have not adequately controlled. For agency workers the site may hand it out, but the employer or agency stays responsible.
Do employees have to wear PPE?
Yes. Regulation 10 requires every worker to use PPE as trained. After use, they return it to its storage.
Does the law cover workers who are not employees?
Since 6 April 2022 it covers limb (b) workers, who work personally under a contract for services. Genuinely self-employed people fall outside them. Visitors, meanwhile, have protection under the 1974 Act.
Which regulations say PPE should be a last resort?
HSE’s guidance on the Personal Protective Equipment at Work Regulations 1992 treats PPE as the last resort. The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 give collective protection priority over individual protection.
Does PPE have to fit the wearer?
Yes. Regulation 4(3) says PPE is only suitable if it can fit the wearer correctly, after any adjustment.
This plain English summary is not legal advice. The wording above comes from the official text. This page links to that text, and you should rely on it instead. Some duties depend on your own risk assessment, so only that assessment can tell you what they mean.