New PPE Regulations. On the 6th April 2022 the Personal Protective Equipment at Work (Amendment) Regulations 2022 come into force and require persons who engage staff on a casual basis to provide Personal Protective Equipment free of charge as they would for employees.
£3500 for burn injury
We recently settled a case for a client who suffered an injury to his arm using manufacturing equipment which posed a risk of burns. The manufacturer argued they had no duty to provide protective equipment to agency staff. The company had contracted their manufacturing work out to an agency. We challenged the manufacturers and issued court proceedings. After the exchange of documents and witness statements it became apparent that the manufacturers were in direct control of the work of casual staff, they provided a risk assessment for the job which stated gloves and arm protectors should be used. They had actually provided these to their employees but not the agency workers. The manufacturer settled our client’s claim before trial for over £3500.
This case demonstrates that simple steps could and should have been taken by the company to ensure all staff receives protective equipment to prevent them from suffering an injury.
The new PPE regulations
These new regulations coming into force will help to enforce the provision and use of protective equipment in the workplace to avoid serious injury and to ensure needless accidents are prevented. Such accidents often have catastrophic consequences.
The Health and Safety Executive is a government body responsible for the protection of occupational health and safety rules and regulations and environmental protection. Even where engineering controls and safe system of work have been adopted, other hazards can still remain. Personal Protective Equipment is needed to reduce the risk of injury to the lowest possible level. The following link to the HSE website provides some very useful guidance on when personal protective equipment should be provided. https://www.hse.gov.uk/toolbox/ppe.htm
How we can help
If you have suffered an injury in the workplace as an employee or casual worker which was not your fault, then we can help you make a claim for compensation. Even if you think the accident was your fault, we would still like to speak to you as it may be the case your employers ought to have carried out a risk assessment and/or provided better training and protective equipment.
We offer a no-win, no-fee service
Get in touch today.
- Call Mike Massen on 0113 2247804
- Email info@cohencramer.co.uk
- Fill in the contact form on this page