Rule Change For Agency Worker PPE To Be Set Out 

13 August 2021

A change in health and safety regulations – in which companies will have to provide personal protective equipment (PPE) to all agency or temp workers for free – is being consulted on.

A High Court judge ruled late last year that the UK had not properly implemented an EU directive requiring companies to provide PPE to all those who work for them. The case was won by the Independent Workers’ Union of Great Britain, as it warned of COVID-19’s impact on “gig-economy” workers such as parcel couriers.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has opened a consultation on the issue, which ends on Sunday (15 August).

In a statement, Build UK said the change “could have far-reaching implications for construction” and, in a draft response to the consultation, its chief executive Suzannah Nichol set out some of the possible financial implications of the “blanket” move. She said the cost of providing agency and other temporary workers with PPE – even if they did not require it as they have been supplied it by someone else – could be “extortionate”, adding that agencies should provide the kit for such personnel.

Her draft letter was circulated to Build UK members for comment last week ahead of the organisation’s submission to the HSE consultation.

Lukas Rootman, a partner at law firm CMS, said the effect of the change is that contractors might have to provide PPE to more people than just their employees in future. “Contractors will, however, have to provide PPE if needed, which will have cost implications. The intention is that these costs should not be for the worker, which is why employers are not necessarily happy about it,” he said.

Asked if the consultation outcome may see the position softened, he said: “It may, of course, be that the consultation results in a watered-down proposal being implemented. If I was betting, I would go with a full implementation so that all workers are covered.”

However, several other figures felt that any impact would be minimal for their companies, including two spokespeople for major contractors who did not wish to comment on the record.

Meanwhile, Danny Lucas, executive chairman of finishing and fit-out company Lucas UK, said: “I would always expect to provide PPE on a project – that’s how you make sure everyone who works on the same project provides uniformity on their look and everyone is wearing the same thing. The only exception at the moment might be for boots as they are quite a personal item.”

Ian Anfield, managing director of payroll company Hudson Contract, said none of his specialist subcontractor clients would “attempt to save money by skimping on PPE provision” and the consultation is a “technical argument” for “policy-makers and lawyers”.

He said it might spur more debate about “whether or not someone is self-employed, a worker or both”, but added: “For us, this is a well-trodden path; those engaged by us are genuinely self-employed and are therefore not workers so nothing changes for them.”

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