On 6 April 2022, the Personal Protective Equipment at Work (Amendment) Regulations 2022 will come into force. The amended regulations will require employers to provide suitable personal protective equipment (PPE) to all workers and not just employees, where there is a health and safety risk. Currently, employers cannot charge employees for PPE, but the regulations will extend this prohibition to also cover workers. The employer’s duty to workers will apply during periods that a worker is working under their worker’s contract.
The amended PPE regulations follow the decision in a recent case, where it was held that the UK had excluded workers from health and safety protection by failing to properly implement the EU Health and Safety Framework Directive and the Council Directive on the minimum health and safety requirements for workers to use PPE at the workplace.
