PPE provision is employers’ duty in law

Leading legal figures Jane Deighton and Lord Hendy QC have issued a reminder on the situation in law around the provision of personal protective equipment (PPE) by employers.

Writing in the Law Gazette, they stated: “What we lawyers cannot ignore is that the supply of PPE to employees exposed to risk is not merely a matter of good practice or even moral obligation. It is a longstanding legal duty. The requirement to protect is not limited to health and care workers but all employees and, under EU law, all workers.

“The common law places an obligation on employers to provide and maintain a safe place of work, a safe system of work and safe and adequate equipment for the job. A failure to take reasonable steps to provide and maintain any of these can entitle the employee to sue for damages if injured or made ill by the failure.”

• The TUC has issued guidance on your rights if you refuse to work because of safety concerns over coronavirus at your workplace (see link below) .

https://www.lawgazette.co.uk/practice-points/personal-protective-equipment-and-the-law/5104146.article

https://www.tuc.org.uk/blogs/can-i-refuse-work-because-coronavirus-we-explain-your-rights