4.—(1) Every employer shall ensure that suitable personal protective equipment is provided to his employees who may be exposed to a risk to their health or safety while at work except where and to the extent that such risk has been adequately controlled by other means which are equally or more effective (source).
The law is clear – if there is a risk that your hands could be injured during the course of your employment, your employer should provide you with appropriate equipment to protect you from a risk. Let’s say you handle hot materials or chemicals – you need heat retardant or chemical proof gloves to prevent any potential injuries. The gloves have to be good enough for the job as well. Regulation 6 states the following:
6.(1) Before choosing any personal protective equipment which by virtue of regulation 4 he is required to ensure is provided, an employer or self-employed person shall ensure that an assessment is made to determine whether the personal protective equipment he intends will be provided is suitable.
Again, the law is quite clear. If you are given gloves that aren’t up to the job and are not going to prevent you from burning yourself, the equipment isn’t good enough and you need more appropriate ones.
If you have to handle glass or be potentially exposed to sharp objects, you should be given gloves that are thick enough to avoid lacerating your hands. There are loads of examples, but the key things to remember are:
- It is your employer’s responsibility to risk assess any activity you do and determine whether you need PPE (Personal Protective Equipment).
- It is your employer who must provide, fund, maintain, and replace all PPE you use.
If your employer does any of the following, you may have a claim:
- Fails to provide PPE.
- Fails to provide the correct or adequate PPE.
- Failed to maintain the PPE, causing it to fall in tom a bad state of repair and no longer offer the protection it should.
If you have been injured at work because your employer fell short of what the law expects of them when it comes to gloves or any other PPE, call our free claims helpline on 0800 634 75 75 today.