Hi, does any one know much about an employers responsibility to providing / cleaning suitable overalls? I have spent a while searching various sites, but just seem to get nowhere! We were told at work today, that they are cancelling the maintenance contract for the supply / cleaning of overalls,as admitably, being a large multi franchise / branch company its costing a fortune. We are no longer to have full traditional style overalls, and instead being supplied with work trousers and shirts to wear next to the skin. Surely, this is not protective clothing PPE? Probably be great for the 2 months of summer, but shite all the rest of the year when two layers is best. (especially when we hardly ever have heating in the workshop - was -6'c inside, before christmas!) If you have a spillage, which could be anything from oil, thats potentialy going to cause dermitaitis, (unlikely if you remove it reasonably quickly obviously, but thats not the point! to battery acid, you do not have a barrier between outer wear and the skin. To make things worse, they are not providing a changing /cleaning area, so you could have to wear contaminated clothing all day if your bashfull! and you are expected to take the dirty stuff home and wash it, which wont come clean at 40'c anyway, will need to go in the tumble drier in the winter, and risk making all your other clothes washed afterwards smell of garages, and may even damage the washing machine before that. Is this unreasonable?
Thanks
Chat Forum
Any health & safety / PPE experts in the house? advice needed please!
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Posted 1 year ago #
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Mick, your employer has aduty to provide you with suitable PPE which must be specified following a suitable risk assessment being carried out. PPE will not be suitable if it doesn't protect you from the hazards such as spilling battery acid, engine oil etc.
It may be worthwhile discussing the issue with the local authority environmental / safety officer if your employer isn't playing ball.Do a search on the HSE website or look for PPE regs 1992 for information - i have included two of the legeslative provisions below for you to peek at
hope this helps
Maintenance and replacement of personal protective equipment
7.—(1) Every employer shall ensure that any personal protective equipment provided to his employees is maintained (including replaced or cleaned as appropriate) in an efficient state, in efficient working order and in good repair.(2) Every self-employed person shall ensure that any personal protective equipment provided to him is maintained (including replaced or cleaned as appropriate) in an efficient state, in efficient working order and in good repair.
Accommodation for personal protective equipment
8. Where an employer or self-employed person is required, by virtue of regulation 4, to ensure personal protective equipment is provided, he shall also ensure that appropriate accommodation is provided for that personal protective equipment when it is not being used.Posted 1 year ago # -
they are not obligated to do your washing! what they are obligated to do is provide relevant PPE based upon risk assessment of a particular work process.
they do not have to provide workwear but can specify that you have to wear it. workwear does not neccessarily mean PPE.
Posted 1 year ago # -
John, thats great. Deffinatly a bit of help anyway.
Jackson, this is exactly what i am struggling to clear up to be honest, as i cant find a definitive description of what is actually relevant for the enviroment that i work in. If its down to individual bosses to do a risk assesment, that all gets a bit vague! I would have thought that there would be guidelines somewhere.Posted 1 year ago # -
(especially when we hardly ever have heating in the workshop - was -6'c inside, before christmas!)
I thought the Factories Act used to specify minimum temperatures for workplaces.Posted 1 year ago # -
A work for a large company and we are expected to clean our own overals/hi-vis vests etc.
But I assume you are a mechanic, ours usually just get mud and dirt on. Could your employee not just provide a washing machine onsite so you can wash stuff whilst at work?
Posted 1 year ago # -
Also H&S at Work Act, CoSHH etc etc. Indeed there are minimum temps in UK but not maximum. A call to your local HSE office should answer your questions. There are serious implications in workers taking contaminated workwear home for washing as it can potentially expose family to the contaminant or others outside of the working environment. Speak to HSE.
Posted 1 year ago # -
If all else fails, I was going to suggest that they fit a washing machine on site, it's got to be cheaper than a contractor. They still need to provide a changing facility though i should think, what if a laydee should saunter by and takes a peek? She may be traumatised
Posted 1 year ago # -
I know this isn't immediately relevant, but I seem to remember you can claim against income tax the cost of laundering working clothes. So you'd get something back.
Posted 1 year ago # -
Something else to research now, thanks!!!
As for the temperature thing, i sort of expect it now, so just put extra layers under my overalls, Oh wait a minute, i wont have any
Posted 1 year ago # -
workplace health safety welfare regs follow a the linky to a free PDF of the approved code of practice. it's very good with workplace temps as well
http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/books/l24.htm
if you workwear is issued as PPE it must be rated to the correct CE or EN rating for the hazard otherwise it's not PPE.
If you company has suitable and sufficient assessment of risk in compliance with MHSW 1999 or REG 6 COSHH the correct PPE should be identified based on tasks and hazards.
If they are being especially twatty they may and try to justify that the laundering of "PPE" falls under the employee's duty to inspect and maintain the PPE but that would be a very sketchy interpretation of the Regs and it MUST BE AT THE EXPENSE OF THE EMPLOYER BY LAW, so if they are going to play that game ensure that all employees can claim professional dry cleaning expenses back from the company for the maintenance of the company equipment i.e the PPE.
Posted 1 year ago # -
There are serious implications in workers taking contaminated workwear home for washing as it can potentially expose family to the contaminant or others outside of the working environment.
somebody should tell the staff working for a large publicly funded health care organisation that the number you see travelling to/ from work in their workwear
Posted 1 year ago # -
Is this unreasonable?
yes, join a union
Posted 1 year ago # -
somebody should tell the staff working for a large publicly funded health care organisation that the number you see travelling to/ from work in their workwear
which happens to be a contributory factor into why the UK has a higher rate of secondary infections/hospital acquired infections than comparable health care providers in other countries where staff use hospital greens/blues.
Posted 1 year ago # -
This is pretty straightforward.
Your employer must carry out a COSHH risk assessment which they must show you.
If they identify that PPE is required to protect you from any hazards, they must provide it FOC.
If PPE is not required, then any clothing the employer issues you with is workwear and not subject to any H&S regulation.
The answer is in the RA. No RA = no leg for the employer to stand on.And min temps don't apply to all workplaces - coldstores for example but then the employer must provide warm clothing to compensate.
Maybe a little chat with the HSE may be in order.
Posted 1 year ago # -
I understand that if something is identified in a risk assesment it should be supplied PPE appropriatly, but the thing is, they are the ones doing the risk assesment. They may not consider the risk to be high enough to warrant the costs. The only way they may be likely to re-think is probably going to be the result of someone suffering an injury unfortunatly. bummer
Posted 1 year ago # -
Ask to see the risk assessment. They may beleive they are controlling the hazard some other way so spills and contaminations are unlikely (this is preferable in the hierachy of controls anyway). This could be by providing training, equipment (anti-spill drainage trays etc).
If they have no risk assessment, or won't let you see it then they are breaking the law so have a chat with the HSE (you can do it anonymously).
Whilst control measures must be "reasonably practicable" (cost versus benefit), they cannot just ignore hazards because the controls might be a bit expensive.
Posted 1 year ago # -
environmental health may have something to say about oil and other contaminants being washed down domestic drains/sewers.
Was a mech and had to supply and wash my own boiler suits in the early days until the "corporste" look came along.
Working with batteries you should have a rubber apron, gloves and visor.
Unions, don`t make me laugh
I am a member btw, useless at most things, some good bits but outweighed by the former.
When in the garage we took the advice "go see the union".Answer = not interested due to not enough people to make it worth the effort.Posted 1 year ago # -
Well, i had a meeting yesterday with the area manager & HS controller, and put the point across, and he seems to be interested in what i had to say, but time will tell! I made the pont that if we end up washing items ourselves, they have a duty of care to ensure that they have a clean working enviroment for us, which we certainly don't have! Also took the time to explain the other HS issues tht we have, which apperantly they were not aware of due to the atual branch managers ability to hide certain things. They are now doing a full HS evaluation next week!
Posted 1 year ago # -
There are serious implications in workers taking contaminated workwear home for washing as it can potentially expose family to the contaminant or others outside of the working environment.
somebody should tell the staff working for a large publicly funded health care organisation that the number you see travelling to/ from work in their workwear
As one of those workers, I agree but there is no choice since they removed the washing machine from work due to......wait for it.......infection control issues! It used to be very handy if you happened to get covered in body fluids of some description, as you could get it washed before you took it home to be washed again.
To the OP, if you buy and take your gear essential for work home to wash, you may be entitled to claim tax relief on it. It's not much but better in your pocket as they say.
Posted 1 year ago # -
On the other side of the coin an overzealous risk assessment could mean you end up wearing full chemical suits all the time. A few pairs of decent overalls from arco and a chat with a local laundrette should see them right though.
Posted 1 year ago #
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