We can offer 100% compensation for workplace compensation claims
The general duty of the employer is to take all reasonable steps to avoid an employee being injured in the workplace. Where certain dangers cannot be avoided, Personal Protective Equipment, or PPE as its commonly known, is the key to safeguarding employees from harm in the workplace.
So what are the duties on your employer, and where can you make a potential claim for personal injury compensation for being injured?
Provision of Equipment
Regulation 4. (1) states:
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.
It’s a fairly clear statement – if PPE is needed, it is the responsibility of the employer to provide it. PPE can range from gloves, helmets, masks, face shields, overalls, ear defenders and all sorts. If it is needed to protect you and it could, and should, have been provided, you can make a claim for personal injury compensation if it isn’t provided.
The PPE itself needs to do the job as well. It’s no use proving gloves that offer no heat protection for handling hot materials! Failure to provide adequate PPE is just as much of a breach as failing to provide it at all.
Inspection and Maintenance of Equipment
Regulation 7. (1) states;
Every employer shall ensure that any personal protective equipment provided to his employees is maintained (including replaced or cleaned as appropriate) in an efficient state, in efficient working order and in good repair.
Most PPE over time will be subject to wear and tear, so it needs routinely inspecting and replacing where necessary. The above shows that it isn’t just the duty to provide it, but also to make sure it is continuously capable of safeguarding employees. It’s no use having gloves full of holes, or a helmet that may just fall off of your head!
Training for Equipment
Regulation 9 states:
(1) Where an employer is required to ensure that personal protective equipment is provided to an employee, the employer shall also ensure that the employee is provided with such information, instruction and training as is adequate and appropriate to enable the employee to know—
(a)the risk or risks which the personal protective equipment will avoid or limit;
(b)the purpose for which and the manner in which personal protective equipment is to be used; and
(c)any action to be taken by the employee to ensure that the personal protective equipment remains in an efficient state, in efficient working order and in good repair as required by regulation 7(1).
(2) Without prejudice to the generality of paragraph (1), the information and instruction provided by virtue of that paragraph shall not be adequate and appropriate unless it is comprehensible to the persons to whom it is provided.
Whilst the above is a chunkier regulation when compared to the above, it is equally as self explanatory. It’s no use having equipment that employees have no clue how to correctly and safely use in order to prevent an injury occurring. As the regulations state above, employees need knowledge of the risks that PPE protects them from and how to ensure the PPE offers the full protection it needs to.
100% Compensation for PPE Claims
Most lawyers will take 25% from your payout for a workplace PPE claim, but we don’t – we can offer you a No Win, No Fee agreement and a 100% compensation agreement as well, meaning you suffer no deductions that other lawyers will take. We recover what fees we can from the other side, and leave it at that.
For help and advice, call 0800 634 75 75 today.
Legislation: http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1992/2966/contents/made
