It seems astonishing in this day and age that many women in the workforce are being provided with poorly fitting and uncomfortable PPE. Fewer than one in three is using protective clothing actually designed with women in mind - for example to accommodate breasts and hips, especially when worn for hours at a time. Overalls which are too long and wrongly shaped shoes/boots could provide a significant trip hazard. Sadly, some women report that they were prevented from carrying out their normal duties due to appropriately sized PPE not being available after a certain stage in pregnancy.
Don’t think this that this is just a ‘PC’ thing. There are a number of regulations covering personal protective equipment (PPE): The Personal Protective Equipment Regulations 2002 and the Personal Protective Equipment at Work Regulations 1992 (as amended) give the main requirements.
These place a legal requirement on employers to provide PPE to workers free of charge, and to maintain it, if it is needed to protect them from any hazards to their safety or health.Other special regulations cover hazardous substances (including lead and asbestos), and also noise and radiation. Equality law also requires employers to treat women no less favourably than men.
PPE isn’t just hi-vis vests and work boots. It can be overalls, eye and ear protection, fleeces, knee pads, high-visibility clothing, safety harnesses, anti-stab jackets and respiratory protective equipment (RPE).
A recent joint survey between the TUC and Propsect/WES of approximately five and a half thousand women workers came up with some pretty uncomfortable statistics:
- 57% of respondents said that their PPE sometimes or significantly hampered their work, rising to 95% of women working in emergency services.
- Protective trousers were inappropriate for 41%, and 35% found their overalls were unsuitable for carrying out work duties.
TUC general secretary Frances O’Grady said: “It shouldn’t be hard to ensure protective uniforms come in men’s and women’s sizes.”Whether PPE is needed must be identified through Risk Assessment. For example, a Control of Substances Hazardous to Health (COSHH) risk assessment may show that eye protection is required when using the chemical being assessed. Employees must be provided with adequate information, instruction and/or training on the use of PPE. Employers also have to make sure that the PPE is suitable for the purpose, and provided to all staff at no cost to them. The employer also has to ensure that it is maintained and, that there is adequate storage if it has to be kept in the workplace. This is not always happening.
In fact, this is definitely a case when a ‘one size fits all’ approach is not appropriate. At the least it causes discomfort to a significant proportion of the workforce. At worst, it can be downright dangerous!
Steve Newton
Director, Isosure Limited where “Good Health and Safety Doesn’t Happen by Accident”
Most of the research for this article came from https://www.healthandsafetyatwork.com/personal-protective-equipment/women-still-put-risk-wrong-ppe-tuc-survey-finds. There is also an excellent guide to PPE for women to be found here
We have excellent training videos online at our website, particularly covering PPE and related issues which you might like to review, and also if you need help with health and safety audit, we’d be happy to help. Please email me for details.
