Personal protective equipment (PPE) is designed to protect the user against health or safety risks at work. It can include items such as safety helmets and hard hats, gloves, eye protection, high-visibility clothing, safety footwear and safety harnesses.
Wherever risks to health and safety cannot be adequately controlled in other ways, the Personal Protective Equipment at Work Regulations 1992 require PPE to be supplied. In some cases, there are more specific regulations which apply to the use of PPE such as hearing protection, respiratory protective equipment, protection against dangerous substances.
For example, gloves used to prevent dangerous chemicals penetrating the skin would be covered by the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health regulations 2002, and not the PPE at Work regulations. PPE should be used when risks to health and safety cannot be adequately controlled in other ways, and PPE is seen as a last resort. In this e-learning course, learners will explore these ideas.