Personal Protective Equipment Regulations - Coverage
The Personal Protective Equipment at Work Regulations 1992 as amended by the Personal Protective Equipment at Work (Amendment) Regulations 2022 (PPE Regulations) cover the protection of employees in all workplaces except:
- sea-going ships in normal circumstances; and
- aircraft outside UK airspace.
The regulations cover all equipment (including clothing to protect against weather), and any addition or accessory, intended to be worn or held by a person at work to protect against one or more risks to health or safety, except:
- ordinary working clothes and uniforms which do not specifically protect the health and safety of the wearer, e.g. clothing worn in the food industry for food hygiene purposes;
- offensive weapons used as self-defence or as deterrent equipment, e.g. truncheons used by security staff;
- portable devices for detecting and signalling risks and nuisances, e.g. sirens/alarms issued to lone workers;
- personal protective equipment used for protection while travelling on a road, e.g. motorcycle helmets, seatbelts, airbags, etc. (but note that the regulations cover such devices for work off the road, such as crash helmets worn by farm workers riding motorcycles or 'all-terrain' vehicles);
- equipment used in competitive sport, e.g. football shin pads, cricket helmets etc used by professionals (but note that the PPE regulations do cover life-jackets used by professional instructors, riding helmets worn by stable staff, climbing helmets worn by steeplejacks, etc.).
Personal protective equipment (PPE) required for safeguarding against the following hazards is covered also by other regulations:
- asbestos, lead and other substances hazardous to health;
- ionising radiations;
- noise; and
- risks to the head in construction work.