15.07.2021

Changes to UK PPE rules

The UK’s Health & Safety Executive (HSE) has launched a consultation on changes to the Personal Protective Equipment at Work Regulations - PPER 1992.

The consultation goes live next Monday (July 19th) and will be open to all for comment for the following four weeks. If you are interested in having your say you can access it via the HSE Consultation Hub.

The aim of the consultation is to understand the impact on businesses and others of extending the scope of the employers’ duties under the PPER to self-employed (Limb (b) Workers) staff that carry out work for them and not only employees.

The move follows a judgment handed down by the High Court, after the Independent Workers Union of Great Britain accused the government of failing to convert the relevant European Directives into UK law and PPER 1992, which set out the general principles and minimum standards for health and safety and the use of personal protective equipment in the workplace.

Any comments can be emailed to the HSE at: [email protected]

Vertikal Comment

This will make little change to most larger employers, although it may have implications on who supplies the equipment. Perhaps employers will now have to provide the equipment rather than demanding that subcontract/freelance staff supply their own PPE?