Your employer owes you a duty of care to keep you safe during working hours. This may mean equipping you with personal protective equipment, respiratory equipment, or other safety clothing.
The modern business has more than just cybersecurity to worry about. Securing your workforce extends both on and offline. If employers are to stay compliant with health and safety laws in their area, they must take heed and provide the correct gear. This may include covering the face, protecting the airways, covering ears and hands, wearing appropriate footwear, and using outerwear to protect clothing. This article covers common safety clothing essentials which you may encounter at work.
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The 5 Safety Clothing Essentials for Hazardous Working Conditions
The aim of safety clothing is to protect the worker from the potential environmental harm they may suffer in the workplace. Failure to protect employees can lead to long term illnesses and employee-employer lawsuits. Here are five types of safety gear that will improve your workplace protection in certain circumstances.
1 – Safety Goggles
Keeping your eyes safe is a huge part of many jobs. Safety goggles provide a line of defense between your bare retinas and the work you are doing. They are an essential part of the job for lab work, chemistry, and even cooking. Those working with tiles or bricks, those who cut lumber, and those who work with particles in the air around them, will all require safety goggles. Remember too that you might need better protection than goggles can give you. This is true if you are a welder or if you work in the snow.
2 – The Face Mask
The face mask has become an intrepid part of the modern world. While still common in the east, the onset and lingering nature of Covid-19 has led western cultures towards the face mask. Now widely accepted, the face mask is a common item of safety clothing if you work in a dentist office, in a hospital or doctor’s surgery, or anywhere else where there is a chance of meeting infected patients.
3 – Protective Footwear
Protective footwear can be PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) and can also be safety clothing. For example, you might receive shoe coverings when you enter an area of infection to prevent you bringing that infection outside on your shoes. You might have to wear steel toed boots if you work in a kitchen or on a construction site. Your employer must provide both if you need them.
4 – Protective Gloves
If you work in catering, you may need marigolds to protect your skin from the harsh chemicals of the soaps used in the sinks. If you work digging wells for a water company, you will require protective gloves to keep your hands warm and watertight.
5 – Disposable Outerwear
When it comes to avoiding the transmission of infections, disposable outerwear is a must-have. A good example of outerwear are those plastic hazmat-style suits which go on over your clothes like a dustcover. When you have finished working in hazardous areas, you simply dispose of the whole thing. Even caterers sometimes use disposable aprons. This is a similar thing.
Stay Safe with Safety Clothing
Remember, if your employer does not provide you with the appropriate safety equipment for the task ahead, then they may be breaking the law. Remind them of their obligations and, should they fail to act,
