How often should workwear be replaced?

The obligation to provide employees with appropriate protective clothing to protect them against harmful factors occurring in the workplace has been imposed on employers by the Labor Code, and the rules for granting it have been precisely defined in Article 237 of this Code. According to its assumptions, it is the employer who determines the types of protective clothing whose use at specific workplaces is necessary, guided of course by the applicable health and safety regulations, industry-specific standards and guidelines established in cooperation with the employee representative in the field of OHS.

In accordance with Article 237(6). §1. 'The employer shall be obliged to provide the worker free of charge with personal protective equipment against dangerous and harmful to health factors occurring in the working environment and to inform him of the ways in which these means are used.’ The occupational health and safety regulations for a given position, drawn up in consultation with employees and specialists in the field of health and safety, should precisely specify what type of protective clothing is to be used on it and how it is to be done, at the same time indicating the possibility of removing the employee from the position when he does not comply with the need to use appropriate protective clothing and personal protective equipment.

These regulations should contain not only information about specific clothing assigned to a given position and employee, but also about the expected periods of its use. Information regarding the latter should be included in the work regulations, and if there is none, in the relevant employer’s order made known to employees. It is unacceptable for an employee aware of the damage to protective clothing and the resulting danger to continue to work in a given position without receiving new or repaired and usable replacement clothing.

One of the few provisions appearing in the Labor Code regarding the wear of protective clothing is Art. 237(10). §1 informing that „the employer is obliged to ensure that personal protective equipment and work clothing and footwear which, as a result of use in the work process, have become contaminated by chemical or radioactive agents or biologically infectious materials, are stored only in a place designated by him.” Therefore, it is not a direct determination of the shelf life and service life of protective clothing, but it illustrates in some way the legal approach to the issue of consumption of this type of personal protective equipment. In practice, therefore, although there is no provision strictly regulating the terms of use of protective clothing, according to the law it should be determined on the basis of the expiration dates given by clothing manufacturers and an audit of workplaces determining the rate of wear of clothing at a given position.

As in the case of the types of protective clothing used at a given position, the employer, in consultation with employees, determines the expected useful lives of individual personal protective equipment. Article 237(8). §1 says: „The employer shall determine the types of personal protective equipment and work clothing and footwear which are necessary for use in certain positions in conjunction with Articles 237(6)§1 and 237(7)§1, and the expected periods of use of work clothing and footwear.” The law does not specify specific periods of use of protective clothing, although they clearly emphasize that they should be determined based on the characteristics of work at a given position, the rate of wear of clothing and the expiration dates set by manufacturers. What’s more, clothing and footwear should be replaced in accordance with the schedule set out in the workplace regulations, even if they have not worn out, but it should be remembered that visible signs of wear can significantly accelerate this deadline.

Personal protective equipment, as well as work clothing and footwear, may not be used by workers for longer than until it is possible to repair them in order to maintain their protective and functional characteristics. According to Art. 237(9) §2: „The employer is obliged to ensure that the personal protective equipment used and work clothing and footwear have protective and functional properties, and to ensure their washing, maintenance, repair, dedusting and decontamination accordingly.” In practice, this means that protective clothing should be subjected to regular maintenance and repairs until further repairs guarantee the restoration of the clothing’s inherent protective and functional characteristics at the position. So if there are abrasions in the protective apron that reduce its protective properties and their repair is not possible, the apron should be replaced (even after a single use, if of course there is such a necessity).

Source: https://www.bhp-gabi.pl/a66,oznaki-zuzycia-odziezy-ochronnej-kiedy-nalezy-ja-wymienic.html

Region Gdański NSZZ „Solidarność”

Projekt otrzymał dofinansowanie z Norwegii poprzez Fundusze Norweskie 2014-2021, w ramach programu „Dialog społeczny – godna praca”.

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