The Personal Protective Equipment at Work Regulations 1992 (usually shortened to PPER, or the PPE at Work Regulations) set out what an employer must do when protective equipment is needed to keep people safe. They are short, but they cover more than most people expect: not just providing PPE, but choosing it properly, maintaining it, training people to use it, and giving it somewhere to live when it is not being worn. This guide walks through what the regulations require, what changed in 2022, and how the storage duty works in practice.
What are the PPE at Work Regulations 1992?
PPER 1992 are made under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 and apply to any workplace where people use personal protective equipment. Regulation 2 defines PPE as all equipment (including clothing affording protection against the weather) that is intended to be worn or held by a person at work and which protects them against one or more risks to their health or safety. Ordinary working clothes and uniforms that do not specifically protect the health and safety of the wearer are not PPE. The Health and Safety Executive publishes guidance on the regulations in L25, Personal protective equipment at work, and it remains the best plain-English reference for what “suitable” means.
Typical PPE in a warehouse, workshop or factory includes safety footwear, hard hats, gloves, eye and hearing protection, high-visibility clothing and respiratory protective equipment.
What changed in April 2022?
Before 6 April 2022 the regulations applied to employees. The Personal Protective Equipment at Work (Amendment) Regulations 2022 extended the employer’s duties to limb (b) workers, meaning people who are not employees but work under a contract to perform work or services personally, and who are not in business on their own account. In practice that brings many agency and casual workers within the duty to provide suitable PPE. If your site uses temporary labour, check that your PPE provision, training and storage arrangements cover them too.
PPE is the last line of defence
The regulations do not say “give everyone a hard hat”. They sit within the wider duty to manage risk under the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999, which requires employers to work through the hierarchy of controls: eliminate the hazard first, then reduce it at source, use collective protection such as guarding or barriers, and only then rely on personal protection. PPE protects only the person wearing it, and only if it is chosen, fitted and used correctly, which is why the regulations treat it as a last resort. Regulation 4 says PPE must be provided where risks cannot be adequately controlled by other means.
Practically, that means a risk assessment comes before the equipment order. For example, a properly guarded machine or a segregated walkway using warehouse safety barriers may remove the need for some PPE altogether, while a task that cannot be engineered out will still need it.
What employers must do: the main duties
The regulations set out a sequence of duties. In summary:
- Provide suitable PPE (regulation 4). It must be appropriate for the risks and the conditions where it is used, take account of ergonomic requirements and the state of health of the wearer, fit properly, and be effective in preventing or controlling the risk. It must also be compatible where more than one item is worn together (regulation 5). Under section 9 of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, employers may not charge employees for PPE they are required to provide.
- Assess it before choosing it (regulation 6). The assessment checks that the PPE will be suitable, considering the risks it must protect against and any risks the PPE itself creates.
- Maintain and replace it (regulation 7). PPE must be kept in an efficient state, in efficient working order and in good repair, which includes cleaning, replacement and proper storage.
- Provide accommodation for it (regulation 8). Where PPE is provided, appropriate accommodation must be provided for it when it is not being used.
- Give information, instruction and training (regulation 9). People need to know the risks the PPE protects against, how to use it, how to look after it and how to spot defects.
- Make sure it is used (regulation 10) and can be reported on (regulation 11). Employers must take all reasonable steps to ensure PPE is properly used, and people must report loss of, or obvious defects in, their PPE.
Employees and workers have their own duties too: use the PPE in line with training and instructions, return it to the accommodation provided after use, and report any loss or defect straight away.
Regulation 8: where does PPE go when it is not being worn?
The accommodation duty is the part of PPER that is most often overlooked, and it is where storage equipment comes in. Equipment that is thrown in a van, left on a bench or stuffed in a coat pocket is more likely to be damaged, contaminated, lost or worn while defective. Regulation 8 does not prescribe a particular product, so the test is whether the accommodation is appropriate for the equipment provided. Good practice generally means:
- A dedicated space per person or per item. Personal-issue items such as safety boots, helmets, gloves and respirators are best stored in a lockable space that the user controls, so nothing gets swapped, lost or contaminated. Metal lockers are the usual answer, and our guides to locker sizes and dimensions and staff workplace lockers explain how to choose a size that suits bulky items such as hard hats and safety boots.
- Ventilation and drying. PPE that gets wet or sweaty should be able to dry between shifts. Perforated lockers allow air to circulate, and boot rooms should keep wet gear away from clean clothes.
- Separation of clean and contaminated items. Where PPE picks up dust, oils or chemicals, store it apart from personal clothing and food. Where the same items are shared, they need a documented cleaning routine.
- Somewhere to change. Fitting and removing PPE goes more smoothly with seating and hooks. Cloakroom and changing room benches support that, and the wider welfare duties are covered in our guide to the Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992.
- Protection from damage. Items such as respirator filters, safety glasses and hearing protection are easily damaged if stored loose. Give them their own labelled space so they are not crushed.
For PPE that is contaminated with hazardous substances, storage and disposal need to follow your COSHH assessment rather than ordinary locker use. If you also store the chemicals themselves, see our guide to COSHH cabinet requirements and our range of COSHH cabinets.
Inspection, maintenance and replacement
PPE wears out. Regulation 7 expects employers to have a system for checking condition, cleaning and replacing items, and to follow the manufacturer’s instructions. A workable routine is to have users check their equipment before each use, to carry out periodic checks by a competent person on items that need it, to record replacements, and to remove damaged items from use immediately. Anything with a defined life, such as some harnesses, filters and helmets, should be replaced on the manufacturer’s schedule or sooner if damaged. Equipment that is used for lifting people or loads has its own regime under LOLER; see our guide to LOLER for how that differs.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Choosing PPE before doing a risk assessment, or relying on it when the hazard could be controlled at source.
- Providing one size and assuming it will fit everyone. Poorly fitting PPE can be as dangerous as none.
- Issuing PPE without training people how to fit, use, clean and store it.
- Forgetting agency and temporary workers, who have been covered since April 2022.
- Providing no proper storage, so PPE ends up dirty, damaged or lost.
- Failing to check that different items worn together are compatible, such as glasses under a respirator.
If the risk is noise, the Control of Noise at Work Regulations 2005 set the action levels that decide when hearing protection must be provided and worn.
Where to find the official guidance
The regulations are on legislation.gov.uk as SI 1992/2966, and HSE’s L25 guidance explains them in detail. If you have a particular process, substance or exposure to protect against, take advice from a competent health and safety adviser. This guide is general information for UK workplaces and is not legal advice.