Dear Colleague,
The Personal Protective Equipment at Work (Amendment) Regulations (PPER) 2022
I am writing to inform you that the Department for Work and Pensions intends to make and lay Regulations on 10 January that will extend free Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) to more people in their place of work. To give businesses time to adapt to new requirements, Regulations will come into force on 6 April 2022. This follows a judicial review on the implementation of the EU PPE Directive. In order to align with the judgment, given in November 2020, changes are being made to the PPE Regulations 1992 to extend the right to free PPE, which already applies to employees, to limb (b) workers. Limb (b) workers generally carry out casual or irregular work for one or a number of organisation(s). Where PPE – such as gloves, foot and eye protection - is deemed necessary following a risk assessment, an employer has a duty to provide PPE free of charge. The employer must ensure the PPE is suitable for use, stored properly, and is maintained and replaced if necessary. Employers must also ensure their workers have sufficient information, instruction, and training on the use of PPE. The UK’s health and safety framework ensures a high level of protection for all those in the workplace. All employers already have a duty under UK law to protect the health and safety of their workers and other people who might be affected by their business, so far as is reasonably practicable. A public consultation on the proposed changes took place from 19 July 2021 to 17 August last year.
The overall response to the consultation was positive, with the majority of respondents anticipating benefits. This was published on the HSE Consultation hub on 13 December 2021 and is available here. The Regulations will apply in Great Britain. The Northern Ireland Assembly via the Health and Safety Executive Northern Ireland intend to mirror the regulations and are in the process of consulting. I would be very happy to answer any further questions colleagues may have.
