Is Your Employer Required to Provide Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)?

Health and safety in the workplace is essential, and there are a number of laws in place, designed to protect employees from being injured as a result of an employers negligence.

Under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, your employer is under a duty to ensure your safety while at work. Many jobs require PPE, such as eye protection, face masks, and head protection. If an employer asks an employee to undertake a job which requires PPE; but they do not provide any suitable personal protective equipment, they are posing a risk to their health. The employer should be held accountable if the employee is injured as a result of the lack of personal protective equipment.

Personal Protective Equipment Regulations

There is a specific requirement under the Personal Protective Equipment Regulations (2002) for an employer to provide PPE to employees, free of charge when they are required for undertaking a job. The Personal Protective Equipment at Work Regulations (1992) and the Noise at Work Regulations (2005) impose a duty on an employer to provide protective equipment to each employee. Personal protective equipment can include gloves, safety helmets, goggles, masks, high visibility clothing, safety harnesses, and ear defenders.

It is the employer’s responsibility to carry out a risk assessment and provide PPE to any employee who may be exposed to potential health and safety risks in the workplace. The employer must ensure that the equipment is suitable in the circumstances, make sure that the equipment is properly maintained by cleaning and where necessary replacing the equipment and must ensure that all employees are properly trained in the use of such protective equipment.

Injuries Caused as a Result of PPE Not Being Provided

There are many injuries which can be caused as a result of a lack of PPE in the workplace, including:

• Head Injuries – Head injuries are a common injury caused by employees not being provided with the correct equipment, such as a hard hat. This type of injury is common on construction sites where the risks of being hit by a falling object, or falling from a height are high.
• Eye Injuries – An eye injury can be serious as it can affect a person’s vision. These types of injuries are usually caused by employers not providing PPE such as Goggles to protect an employees vision when required. Eye protection will protect employees from many types of hazards in the workplace such as dust, debris and sparks from machinery.
• Hand Injuries – Many types of injuries to hands in the workplace can be avoided by wearing protective gloves. Gloves can help protect the hands from corrosive chemicals, burns, vibrations, lacerations, vibrations, and abrasions in the workplace.

Many other injuries and accidents commonly occur as a result of PPE not provided to employees. Equipment such as high visibility clothing can protect employees from a wide range of accidents in the workplace and on building sites.

Have You been Injured at Work When PPE Not Provided?

If you have been injured at work as a result of PPE not provided, you should first seek medical attention from your G.P. or at hospital, if your injuries are serious.
You should always ensure that your employers have recorded details of the incident and ask for a copy of the report to make sure the details recorded are correct. If you can obtain photographic evidence of the accident and injuries, as well as statements from witnesses to the accident, this will also be useful for your case.

If you would like to discuss your potential injury at work claim, get in touch with Beacon Law.

Can You Make a Claim?

Have you have been injured as a result of your employer’s negligence or failure to provide the correct Personal Protective Equipment? If so, you are entitled to pursue a claim against your employer. Your employer cannot terminate your employment or treat you badly solely because you have made a claim against them. Your employer should have employer’s liability insurance in place to cover them in the event any of their employees are injured due to their negligence or a breach of statutory duty. You should, therefore, appreciate that your employer’s insurers will cover any claim, and not your employer’s directly.

Proving an accident at work claim

In order to be successful in an accident at work claim, you will need to provide some evidence to prove that your accident happened as you have alleged, and that your accident resulted in the injuries you have suffered. The types of evidence that you may be required to provide can include:

• Witness statements from other employees present at the time of the accident.
• Photographs of the area of your accident or photos of the defective equipment that caused your accident.
• Your copy of the accident report (if you were provided with this).
• CCTV footage of your accident (we are likely to request this from your employer).
• Photographs of your injuries.
• Copies of any medical records or hospital letters.
• Receipts showing any treatment/ medication costs or other expenses incurred.

How long will it take to settle my case?

It is very difficult to predict how long it will take to settle any case. If your case is straight-forward, your injuries are minor, and your employer admits liability within the required time frames, it should take around 6-9 months to settle your claim. The claims process is not always straight-forward and there are many factors which could cause a delay in settling you claim, such as an unresponsive defendant, difficulties in obtaining evidence, and serious, complicated injuries.

The timescales from the initiation of a claim to obtaining compensation will vary depending on whether your employer admits or denies liability for your accident. The seriousness of your injuries may also have an impact on the amount of time it will take for us to settle your claim.

No win, no fee accident at work claims

We offer all claims on a no win, no fee basis. These claims allow personal injury solicitors and their legal team to proceed with your claim with no up-front legal costs to be paid. Throughout the compensation claim process, there will be no hidden charges or payments required from the injured person.

This type of agreement helps the injured party focus on recovering from their injures without stressing about the financial risks.

If your claim is successful, you will only be required to pay a small amount from your final damages to your solicitor for their a success. These costs will be calculated as a percentage and will be discussed with you before legal proceedings start. This payment is to compensate your solicitor for their time and work put into assisting on your case.

You may also be required to pay a small fee for ATE insurance from your compensation award if your case is successful. This will all be explained to you by your solicitor before you agree to start your personal injury claim.

If your case is unsuccessful, unfortunately, you will not receive any compensation; however, you will not be required to pay us a penny.

Should I go back to work after an accident?

If you are well enough to go back to work, you should return to your workplace. If you are well enough to return to work, but decide not to, you will be unable to recover your loss of earnings for this time off when it comes to settling your claim.

If you are making a claim against your employer, you may feel awkward or uncomfortable when returning to work; but you shouldn’t feel this way. Your employer breached their duty of care towards you and caused you to sustain an injury, therefore, you are entitled to make a claim against them.

The law is on your side in this regard and your employer should not treat you negatively because you are making a claim against them.

Why Choose Beacon Law?

Beacon Law provides a team of highly experienced Solicitors and legal professionals. We provide a high level of service to all our clients and work hard to ensure you receive the highest level of accident at work compensation for your injuries. We are specialist Personal Injury solicitors with expertise in all types of claims, including, road traffic accidents, slips, trips, falls, and criminal injuries. Beacon Law is regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority. To find out about our no win, no fee funding, have a look at the funding section on our website.

If you have a query regarding making an accident at work claim, please do not hesitate to get in touch and we will be happy to discuss your claim with you, without any obligations.

We deal with all types of personal injury and workplace accident claims. The legal matters which we deal with on a no win, no fee basis, include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Accidents at Work
• Slips, Trips and Falls
• Road Traffic Accidents
• Animal Attacks
• Medical Negligence
• Professional Negligence
• Criminal Injury Claims (CICA)
• Catastrophic Injuries

For a free, no obligation initial discussion, contact us using the form at the top of the page or using our live chat facility. Alternatively, you can call us directly on 0330 1332 857.