Introduction to Health and Safety at Work

17.25.2 Provision of PPE – Regulation 4
Every employer shall ensure that suitable PPE is provided 
to their employees who may be exposed to risks to their 
health and safety except where it has been adequately or 
more effectively controlled by other means. (Management 
Regulations require PPE to be the last choice in the prin-
ciples of protection.)
PPE shall not be suitable unless:
➤
it is appropriate for the risks and the conditions of 
use including the period for which it is worn
➤
it takes account of ergonomic requirements and the 
state of health of the wearer and the characteristics 
of the workstation of each person
➤
it is capable of fi tting the wearer correctly, by adjust-
ments if necessary
➤
it is, so far as is practicable, able to combat the risks 
without increasing overall risks
➤
it complies with UK legislation on design or manu-
facture, i.e. it has a CE marking.
Where it is necessary that PPE is hygienic and otherwise 
free of risk to health PPE must be provided to a person 
solely for their individual use.
17.25.3 Compatibility – Regulation 5
Where more than one health and safety risk necessitates 
the wearing of multiple PPE simultaneously then they 
shall be compatible and remain effective.
17.25.4 Assessment – Regulation 6
Before choosing any PPE, employers must ensure that 
an assessment is made to determine whether the PPE is 
suitable.
The assessment shall include:
➤
assessing risks which have not been avoided by 
other means
17.25 
Personal Pr
otective Equipment at W
ork Regulations 1992 as amended in 2002

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Summary of the main legal requirements
375
➤
a 
defi nition of the characteristics that PPE must have 
to be effective, taking into account any risks created 
by the PPE itself
➤
a comparison of available PPE with the required 
characteristics
➤
information on whether the PPE is compatible 
with any other PPE which is in use, and which an 
employee would be required to wear simultaneously.
The assessment should be reviewed if it is no longer valid 
or there have been signifi cant changes. In simple cases 
it will not be necessary to record the assessment but, in 
more complex cases, written records should be made 
and kept readily available for future reference.