PPE Information

Useful information for you, your safety Footwear and the Law...

Personal protective equipment (PPE) includes footwear which is intended to be worn by a person at work and which protects against one or more risks to their health and safety.

Where a risk assessment identifies the need for safety footwear to protect against one or more risks, this should be provided free of charge by the employer or the self-employed.

Under domestic law (the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974) employers are responsible for ensuring the safety of their employees and others.

This responsibility is enforced by the Personal Protective Equipment at work regulations 1992 governing the provision and use of protective footwear.

The main requirement is that PPE is to be supplied and used at work wherever there are assesed risks to health and safety that cannot be adequately controlled in other ways.

Foot injuries are common in industry and usually result from the following causes:

• Crushing caused by heavy objects falling onto part or all of the foot
• Foot penetration due to standing or walking onto a sharp object, eg nails left embedded in timber
• Contact with irritant or corrosive chemicals, eg cement burns when pouring concrete

NOTE: The selection of footwear for use with chemicals should form part of the assessment required by regulation 6 of the COSHH Regulations 1988.

What type of safety footwear should be worn?

Where a significant risk of foot injuries exists the footwear should be strong enough to withstand the stresses placed upon it and have protected toe caps capable of resisting a heavy falling object. If there is an additional risk of foot penetration the footwear should incorporate a mid-sole or other armouring to prevent this type of injury.

The footwear should be robust enough and have sufficient grip for the working environment. It should also be: comfortable, flexible to reduce the risk of tiring the feet and legs, capable of absorbing perspiration and waterproof (where required.)