Procedures

When assessing a risk, the Council’s risk assessment process must be used and the hierarchy of controls system must be considered first:

Hierarchy of controls

PPE should be regarded as the last resort to protect against risks to health and safety.

Risk controls should be considered in the following order, with elimination being the most effective and PPE being the least effective:

• Elimination – physically remove the hazard;
• Substitution – replace the hazard;
• Engineering controls - isolate people from the hazard;
• Administrative controls – change the way people work;
• PPE – protect the worker with personal protective equipment.

There must be no difference in the way PPE is provided to our workers, as defined by PPER 2022. This means assessing the risk and ensuring suitable PPE is provided, when needed, to all people that fall under the definition of worker.

The PPE provided must be compatible, maintained and correctly stored. All workers must use the PPE properly following training and instruction in its use.

Items such as safety shoes will be provided to employees on a personal basis.  However, certain items of PPE may be shared by employees and stored centrally, for example where it is only required for limited periods e.g. eye googles. When shared, employers should ensure such equipment is properly cleaned and, where required, decontaminated to ensure there are no health risks to the next person using it.

When use of PPE is required, staff will be required to follow service arrangements as communicated by their Manager.