The Personal Protective Equipment at Work Regulations 2022 (PPE Regulations 2022) set out the legal requirements for providing, maintaining and using personal protective equipment in UK workplaces. They apply to every employer in Great Britain, regardless of industry or size. If you employ anyone — or you are self-employed and exposed to workplace risks — these regulations apply to you.
The 2022 regulations replaced the 1992 version and came into force on 6 April 2022, implementing updates to reflect changes in EU legislation before Brexit and incorporating subsequent UK-specific requirements. The core principle remains unchanged: PPE is a last resort, but where it is needed, it must be suitable, properly maintained, and employees must be trained to use it correctly.
What the PPE Regulations 2022 Require
Under Regulation 4(1) of the PPE Regulations 2022, every employer must ensure that suitable personal protective equipment is provided to employees who may be exposed to a risk to their health or safety while at work, except where and to the extent that such risk has been adequately controlled by other means which are equally or more effective. PPE is defined as all equipment (including clothing affording protection against the weather) which is intended to be worn or held by a person at work and which protects against one or more risks to health or safety.
The regulations follow the hierarchy of control established by the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999. Employers must first attempt to eliminate the hazard entirely, then reduce exposure through substitution, engineering controls or safe systems of work. Only when these measures do not adequately control the risk should PPE be used. PPE must always be provided free of charge — Regulation 4(3) explicitly prohibits charging employees for any PPE required by law.
Regulation 6 requires employers to conduct a PPE assessment before choosing equipment. The assessment must identify the risks present, define the characteristics the PPE must have to be effective against those risks, and compare available PPE to determine which is suitable. This assessment must be recorded if the employer has five or more employees, and it must be reviewed whenever it is no longer valid or there has been a significant change in the work to which it relates.
Regulation 7 places a duty on employers to ensure that PPE is maintained in an efficient state, in efficient working order and in good repair. This includes replacement of worn or damaged equipment, regular inspection, cleaning and storage in proper conditions. Regulation 8 requires that appropriate accommodation be provided for PPE when it is not being used — simple examples include hooks for high-visibility jackets, lockers for respirators, or covered storage for safety helmets.
Who the PPE Regulations 2022 Apply To
The regulations apply to:
- Every employer in Great Britain who employs one or more persons
- Self-employed persons where their work exposes them to risks to health or safety
- All industries and sectors — construction, manufacturing, warehousing, logistics, retail, hospitality, healthcare, agriculture, waste management, offices
- Principals and contractors under the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015 where PPE forms part of site safety requirements
- Temporary workers, agency workers and workers on short-term contracts — all have the same entitlement to suitable PPE as permanent employees
- Employees working remotely or at client premises where the employer retains health and safety responsibility
There is no exemption based on employer size, type of business, or duration of the work. A one-person limited company employing a single part-time worker is subject to the same PPE Regulations 2022 as a multinational employer with thousands of staff.
Key Duties at a Glance
Here are the specific requirements employers must meet under the PPE Regulations 2022:
- Regulation 4(1): Provide suitable PPE to employees exposed to health and safety risks that cannot be adequately controlled by other means
- Regulation 4(3): Provide all PPE free of charge — employers cannot require employees to pay for legally required equipment
- Regulation 5: Ensure PPE is compatible when more than one item is worn simultaneously (e.g. safety glasses and ear defenders must not interfere with each other)
- Regulation 6: Conduct and record a PPE assessment identifying risks, required characteristics and suitable equipment
- Regulation 7: Maintain PPE in efficient working order and good repair through regular inspection, cleaning and replacement
- Regulation 9: Provide adequate and appropriate information, instruction and training to employees on PPE use, including risks, correct use, and maintenance
- Regulation 10: Take all reasonable steps to ensure PPE is properly used by employees
- Regulation 11: Employees must use PPE in accordance with training and instruction, report loss or defects, and return equipment to proper storage after use
Penalties for Non-Compliance
Breach of the PPE Regulations 2022 is a criminal offence prosecuted by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. In the magistrates court, fines are unlimited for breaches committed after 12 March 2015. In the Crown Court, fines are unlimited and prison sentences of up to two years can be imposed for serious breaches.
The HSE can issue improvement notices requiring specific actions within a set timeframe, or prohibition notices stopping work immediately where there is a risk of serious personal injury. The HSE's Fee for Intervention (FFI) scheme means inspectors charge £163 per hour for time spent investigating and taking enforcement action on material breaches — meaning even a minor inspection for missing PPE records can result in a bill of several hundred pounds before any fine is imposed.
According to HSE statistics for 2022/23, there were 135 fatal injuries to workers in Great Britain and 60,645 non-fatal injuries reported under RIDDOR. Many of these injuries involved failures of PPE provision, maintenance or use. In the construction sector alone, the HSE reported that lack of appropriate PPE contributed to a significant proportion of the 45 construction worker fatalities in 2022/23.
How PPE Regulations Relate to Risk Assessments
The PPE Regulations 2022 cannot be applied in isolation. They work in conjunction with Regulation 3 of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999, which requires every employer to make a suitable and sufficient assessment of the risks to the health and safety of employees to which they are exposed while at work. The risk assessment identifies the hazards and evaluates the risks; the PPE assessment then determines what equipment is needed to control those risks where other measures are insufficient.
A compliant risk assessment will identify situations where PPE is required — for example, working at height (hard hat, harness), exposure to noise above 85dB (hearing protection), handling hazardous substances (gloves, respiratory protection), or working near moving vehicles (high-visibility clothing). The risk assessment must be reviewed and updated whenever there is a significant change in the work, the equipment, or the workforce. PPE requirements must be updated accordingly.
Employers with five or more employees must record both the general workplace risk assessment and the specific PPE assessment. For smaller employers the assessment does not need to be written down, but the HSE strongly recommends it. In practice, producing a written record is the only way to demonstrate compliance if challenged. Need a compliant risk assessment that identifies your PPE requirements? Anyrisks generates sector-specific risk assessments in under 2 minutes, covering PPE duties under the 2022 regulations.
PPE Regulations and Construction Work
Construction is the sector with the highest rate of PPE-related enforcement action. A typical small building contractor carrying out refurbishment work will require multiple types of PPE across a single project: hard hats for protection from falling objects, safety boots with steel toe caps and puncture-resistant soles, high-visibility jackets or vests for visibility on site, dust masks or respirators for work generating silica dust or working with insulation, gloves for handling materials and sharp objects, and eye protection when cutting, grinding or drilling.
Under the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015, the principal contractor must ensure that suitable site rules are prepared, and those rules will specify minimum PPE requirements for all workers on site. Subcontractors and self-employed workers remain responsible for providing their own PPE, but it must meet the standards set out in the site rules. Failure to wear required PPE is grounds for removal from site and can result in prosecution of both the individual worker and the employer under Regulation 10 and Regulation 11 of the PPE Regulations 2022.
A 2023 HSE inspection programme targeting small construction sites found that over 40% of sites visited had material breaches relating to PPE — most commonly lack of suitable eye protection during cutting operations, inadequate respiratory protection when working with silica-generating materials, and failure to enforce hard hat use in areas with overhead work. The HSE issued improvement notices in the majority of these cases and prosecuted repeat offenders.
Common PPE Failures That Trigger HSE Enforcement
The HSE has identified recurring failures in PPE compliance that lead to enforcement action:
- No written PPE assessment despite employing five or more persons
- PPE provided but not suitable for the specific risk (e.g. disposable dust masks used for asbestos work, ordinary gloves instead of cut-resistant gloves for sharp materials)
- No training provided to employees on correct use, limitations, or maintenance of PPE
- PPE in poor condition — damaged hard hats, scratched safety glasses, torn high-visibility clothing — not replaced
- Charging employees for PPE or requiring them to provide their own equipment
- No inspection regime for critical PPE such as fall arrest harnesses or respiratory equipment
- Relying on PPE as the primary control measure without considering elimination, substitution or engineering controls first
Each of these failures is a breach of the regulations and can result in an improvement notice, a prohibition notice, prosecution, and a Fee for Intervention charge. All are entirely avoidable with proper systems in place.
What Suitable PPE Means in Practice
Regulation 4(3) of the PPE Regulations 2022 states that personal protective equipment shall not be suitable unless it is appropriate for the risks involved, the conditions at the place where exposure may occur, ergonomic requirements and the state of health of the person who may wear it, and it is capable of fitting the wearer correctly after adjustments within the range for which it is designed. This is a precise legal test.
PPE marked with the CE or UKCA marking has been tested and certified to meet British or European standards for specific hazards. For example, EN 166 for eye protection, EN 352 for hearing protection, EN 397 for industrial safety helmets. Employers must match the PPE standard to the risk identified in the assessment. A dust mask rated FFP1 is not suitable for protection against silica dust, which requires FFP3. A high-visibility vest meeting Class 2 is not suitable for roadside work requiring Class 3.
PPE must also fit correctly. Regulation 4(4) requires employers to take into account ergonomic requirements and the state of health of the person or persons who may wear it. This means providing a range of sizes, adjustable equipment, and alternatives for workers with medical conditions that make standard PPE unsuitable. Ill-fitting PPE is ineffective and breaches the regulations even if provided.
PPE for Specific Hazards
Respiratory Protective Equipment (RPE)
Required under the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002 (COSHH) where exposure to dust, fume, vapour, mist or gas cannot be adequately controlled by other means. RPE must be selected based on a specific assessment of the substance, the level of exposure, and the work being done. Disposable masks, half-face respirators and full-face respirators all have different protection factors. Employers must provide face-fit testing for tight-fitting RPE to ensure an effective seal. Records of fit testing must be kept for at least five years.
Hearing Protection
Required under the Control of Noise at Work Regulations 2005 where workers are exposed to noise levels at or above 85dB(A) over an 8-hour period. Employers must reduce noise exposure to as low a level as is reasonably practicable by means other than PPE, but where exposure remains at or above 85dB(A), suitable hearing protection must be provided and its use enforced. Hearing protection must be selected to reduce exposure below 85dB(A) and ideally below 80dB(A). Employees must be trained on correct insertion and wear, and equipment must be regularly inspected and replaced when damaged or worn.
Head Protection
Safety helmets are required in any area where there is a risk of head injury from falling objects, striking fixed objects, or contact with electrical hazards. On construction sites, hard hats are mandatory in nearly all areas under CDM 2015 site rules. Helmets must meet EN 397 and must be replaced after any impact, after the manufacturer's recommended lifespan (typically 3-5 years from date of manufacture), or when damaged. Helmets must not be painted or modified as this can weaken the shell. Employers must ensure helmets fit correctly and are worn with the chinstrap fastened where there is a risk of the helmet being dislodged.
Record Keeping and PPE Registers
The PPE Regulations 2022 do not explicitly require a PPE register, but Regulation 7 (maintenance) and Regulation 9 (training) create implicit record-keeping duties. Best practice is to maintain a PPE register listing: each type of PPE issued; the employee to whom it was issued; the date of issue; the date of inspection; the condition; and the date of replacement. For critical PPE such as harnesses, respirators and fall arrest equipment, detailed inspection records must be kept showing the date, the inspector, the findings, and any defects or actions taken.
Training records must show: the date of training; the trainer; the employee trained; the type of PPE covered; and confirmation that the employee understood the training. Records should be retained for the duration of employment and for at least three years afterwards. In the event of an accident or HSE investigation, failure to produce training and inspection records is treated as evidence that no training or inspection took place.
Employee Duties Under Regulation 11
Employees are not passive recipients of PPE. Regulation 11 places three explicit duties on every employee: to use PPE in accordance with any training and instruction given by the employer; to report any loss of or obvious defect in PPE to the employer; and to return PPE to the accommodation provided for it after use. Failure to comply is a criminal offence. An employee who refuses to wear required PPE, or who damages or loses equipment through negligence, can be prosecuted and fined.
Employers must take all reasonable steps to ensure PPE is properly used. This includes supervision, disciplinary action for non-compliance, and removal from site or dismissal in serious cases. The HSE has successfully prosecuted employees for deliberate non-use of PPE, and the courts have upheld dismissals for refusal to wear safety equipment where the employer had provided training, signage and supervision.
Self-Employed Workers and PPE
Under Regulation 4(2), every self-employed person must ensure that suitable PPE is provided to themselves where they may be exposed to a risk to their health or safety while at work, except where such risk has been adequately controlled by other means. A self-employed electrician, plumber, carpenter, groundworker or any other tradesperson must assess the risks of their own work and provide themselves with appropriate PPE — even if working alone.
When a self-employed contractor works on a site controlled by a principal contractor, the principal contractor's site rules will specify minimum PPE requirements. The self-employed person must comply and must provide their own equipment unless the contract specifies that the principal contractor will supply it. Failure to wear required PPE is grounds for removal from site and can result in prosecution under Regulation 11. Self-employed persons who employ subcontractors or labourers become employers for the purposes of the regulations and must provide PPE to those workers in accordance with Regulation 4(1).
Updates in the 2022 Regulations
The PPE Regulations 2022 replaced the Personal Protective Equipment at Work Regulations 1992 (as amended). The main changes were: updated references to reflect the UK's exit from the EU; replacement of CE marking references with UKCA marking for equipment placed on the market after 1 January 2023; and minor clarifications to the duties under Regulation 4 and Regulation 6 to align with updated HSE guidance. The core duties on employers remain substantively unchanged from the 1992 version.
The 2022 regulations maintain the principle established in 1992: PPE is a last resort. Employers must first attempt to eliminate the hazard, then reduce exposure by other means, and only use PPE where risks remain. This hierarchy is central to UK health and safety law and reflects the requirement under Regulation 4(1) that PPE is required except where and to the extent that risks have been adequately controlled by other means which are equally or more effective.
PPE and Risk Assessments: The Legal Link
Every employer has a legal duty under Regulation 3 of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 to carry out a suitable and sufficient risk assessment. That assessment must identify when and where PPE is required. The PPE assessment required by Regulation 6 of the PPE Regulations 2022 builds on the general risk assessment and determines what specific equipment is suitable for the identified risks.
In practice, most employers combine the two assessments into a single document that identifies the hazard, evaluates the risk, lists the control measures (engineering controls, safe systems of work), and specifies the PPE required where residual risks remain. This approach satisfies both sets of regulations and avoids duplication. Do you need a risk assessment? If you employ anyone, or you are self-employed and exposed to workplace risks, the answer is yes — and that assessment must identify your PPE requirements.
