On 6th April 2022, new regulations regarding PPE will come into force.
Current regulations surrounding personal protective equipment (PPE) will remain the same but will now extend to workers employed on a more casual basis.
The law stipulates that businesses must provide PPE free of charge where deemed necessary by a risk assessment. Currently, this only applies to limb (a) workers – or workers in a contract of employment directly with the business. As of 6th April, however, these rules will also apply to limb (b) workers.
Limb (b) workers can be classified by the following:
- Those who carry out casual or irregular work for one or more organisations
- Those who, after one month of continuous service, receive holiday pay but not other employment rights such as the minimum period of statutory notice
- Those who only carry out work if they choose to
- Those who have a contract or other arrangement to do work or services personally for a reward (the contract doesn’t have to be written) and only have a limited right to send someone else to do the work, for example, swapping shifts with someone on a pre-approved list (subcontracting)
- Those who are not in business for themselves (they do not advertise services directly to customers who can then also book their services directly)
Employers should consider whether these changes will affect their workplace and make suitable arrangements to prepare for their implementation.
