Protective equipment must be provided free of charge

The HSE has told catering industry employers about their duty to provide workers with free personal protective equipment (PPE).

Percy Smith, HSE principal inspector dealing with the catering industry, said: "Recent reports to HSE from unions and groups of workers indicate that some employers providing safety shoes or other items of PPE are classing them as part of the work uniform and charging workers for them.

"Regrettably we receive similar reports regularly over the years. Catering employers must understand that the practice of charging in this way is illegal."

Section 9 of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 says: "No employer shall levy or permit to be levied on any employee of his any charge in respect of anything done or provided in pursuance of any specific requirement of the relevant statutory provisions."

This applies to the requirement set out in regulation 4(1) of the Personal Protective Equipment at Work Regulations 1992, which states that every employer must provide suitable PPE where a risk assessment has indicated risks to health and safety that cannot be adequately controlled by other means.

Smith added: "The provision of PPE should never be the first step in dealing with risks in the workplace. Only after all other reasonably practicable steps have been taken to prevent and control risks to an adequate level should there be recourse to PPE."