Personal protective equipment - what it is, who the duty covers and how to issue PPE
Gloves kept in a toolbox, a hard hat “from the previous construction site”, a dust half-mask bought out of one’s own pocket - in many companies this is what “provision of personal protective equipment” looks like. Meanwhile, a labour inspection audit in this area ends very concretely: providing an employee with PPE that fails to meet conformity-assessment requirements is an offence carrying a fine of PLN 2,000 to PLN 60,000 (art. 283 § 1 of the Labour Code). And the duty does not end with the purchase - it covers selection, training in their use, laundering, maintenance and replacement.
What are personal protective equipment items
The definition comes from the regulation on general occupational health and safety provisions (consolidated text: Journal of Laws 2003 item 1650): personal protective equipment means all equipment worn or held by the worker to protect him against one or more hazards likely to endanger his safety or health at work, including any accessories or additions intended for that purpose. In practice this covers protective clothing (coveralls, jackets, aprons), head protection (helmets), eye and face protection (glasses, goggles, face shields), hearing protection (earmuffs, earplugs), respiratory protection (half-masks, masks, breathing apparatus), hand and foot protection (gloves, safety footwear) and fall-arrest equipment (harnesses, lanyards, fall-arrest sets).
The Labour Code uses the same understanding: under art. 237⁶ § 1 the employer is obliged to provide employees free of charge with personal protective equipment protecting against dangerous and harmful agents present in the work environment, and to inform them how to use it.
Equally important is what is not classified as PPE. Ordinary work clothing and uniforms that are not specifically intended to ensure safety and protect health, military and police equipment, rescue-service equipment, means used under road-traffic law (e.g. warning vests kept in the car), sports equipment and self-defence means - none of these counts as PPE. The distinction matters in practice: the rules on selecting, storing and maintaining PPE do not apply to ordinary work clothing.
When the employer must provide PPE
Personal protective equipment is the last line of defence, not the first. § 39 of the general OHS provisions regulation orders the employer’s duties into a hierarchy: first, eliminate hazards at source by using technology, machinery and materials that do not create hazards; where that is impossible - organisational and technical solutions, including collective protection (guardrails, canopies, sound-damping enclosures, ventilation); only when even that is insufficient is the employer obliged to provide employees with PPE appropriate to the type and level of the hazards. The possibility of applying collective protection measures always takes precedence over PPE.
From the same principle it follows that the employer must not allow an employee to work without the necessary PPE (art. 237⁹ § 1 of the Labour Code), and the ban cuts both ways: an employee who has not been equipped with the required protective equipment, where the lack of it poses a direct threat to health or life, may under art. 210 § 1 of the Labour Code withhold work performance, notifying the supervisor immediately.
The duty also covers non-employees of the establishment. Persons performing inspection activities or other short-term work on the premises must also receive appropriate protective equipment for the duration of that work.
How to select and issue PPE correctly
Selecting PPE starts from the occupational risk assessment for a specific work station, not from a safety-supply catalogue. § 39 of the general regulation and annex no. 2 set out what the employer must do before purchasing protective equipment: analyse and assess the hazards that cannot be avoided by other means, determine the characteristics PPE must have to protect effectively against those hazards (including the risks the equipment itself may create), and then compare those characteristics with the characteristics of the equipment available on the market. The assessment repeats whenever its elements change - new machines, new substances, new work organisation.
Equipment supplied to employees must be appropriate for the existing risks and must not itself increase the risk, take account of conditions at the specific workplace, ergonomic requirements and the employee’s state of health, and fit the user correctly after the necessary adjustments (annex no. 2, § 2). When several hazards occur at once and several items must be worn together, they must be compatible with one another without reducing their protective properties (annex no. 2, § 3). Equipment is by design for personal use; shared use is admissible only exceptionally, after measures excluding any negative impact on users’ health and hygiene have been applied (annex no. 2, § 5).
The duties around issuing PPE are closed by several Labour Code provisions worth knowing together:
| Duty | Legal basis |
|---|---|
| Free provision of PPE protecting against dangerous and harmful agents, plus informing about how to use it | art. 237⁶ § 1 LC |
| Providing only PPE meeting conformity-assessment requirements | art. 237⁶ § 3 LC |
| Determining the types of PPE necessary at specific work stations | art. 237⁸ § 1 LC |
| Ban on allowing work without the planned PPE; ensuring laundering, maintenance, repair, dedusting and decontamination | art. 237⁹ § 1 and 2 LC |
| Safe storage of PPE contaminated with chemical, radioactive or biological agents; ban on entrusting its laundering to the employee | art. 237¹⁰ LC |
| Consulting the issue of PPE with employees or their representatives | art. 237¹¹a § 1 pt. 4 LC |
The types of personal protective equipment necessary at specific work stations are determined by the employer after consultation with employees or their representatives, and the rules for equipping workers with PPE should be included in the work regulations or - where the employer is not required to adopt them - in another internal act. When determining equipment for specific works, the employer follows the guidance of tables 1-3 of annex no. 2 to the general regulation, which link types of work with example protection sets.
Requirements for PPE - the CE mark and conformity assessment
Art. 237⁶ § 3 of the Labour Code allows providing an employee only with equipment that meets conformity-assessment requirements. These requirements are set by Regulation (EU) 2016/425 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 9 March 2016 on personal protective equipment, directly applicable in Poland. It divides PPE into three risk categories: category I covers minimal hazards (e.g. superficial mechanical injuries, contact with weaker cleaning agents), category II covers hazards other than those in categories I and III, and category III covers hazards that may have very serious consequences, such as death or irreversible damage to health - including substances hazardous to health, atmospheres with insufficient oxygen content, falls from height, electric shock, drowning and harmful noise. The higher the category, the more serious the conformity-assessment procedure: category III requires the involvement of a notified body and continuous surveillance of production.
A manufacturer who has demonstrated conformity with the essential requirements draws up the EU declaration of conformity and affixes the CE marking to the product - in a visible, legible and indelible manner, and where that is impossible or unjustified given the nature of the product, on the packaging and accompanying documents. For the buyer, the CE marking together with the EU declaration of conformity is confirmation that the essential health and safety requirements have been met. In practice this means that cheap gloves without CE, a helmet without documentation or half-masks from an uncertain source are not a saving but a ready-made basis for a charge under art. 283 § 2 pt. 4 of the Labour Code.
Employee duties and the limits of responsibility
The issue of PPE also obliges the employee. Under art. 211 pt. 4 of the Labour Code the employee is obliged to use collective protection measures, and to use the assigned personal protective equipment and work clothing and footwear in accordance with their intended purpose. The equipment remains the property of the employer (art. 237⁸ § 2 LC), and the employer may control how it is used and enforce that duty.
On the employer’s side remains the entire organisational backbone that must not be shifted onto employees: maintenance, laundering, dedusting and decontamination of PPE are the employer’s duties, and entrusting these activities to employees is inadmissible (art. 237⁹ § 2, art. 237¹⁰ § 2 LC). The only exception concerns laundering of ordinary work clothing when the employer cannot ensure it - then the employee may wash it personally, provided a cash equivalent covering the costs is paid (art. 237⁹ § 3 LC). PPE that has been contaminated in the work process with chemical, radioactive or biologically infectious agents must be stored exclusively in a place designated by the employer (art. 237¹⁰ § 1 LC).
Equipment is replaced according to the manufacturer’s guidance or when it has lost its protective properties. The employer should also ensure that instructions for use are available together with the equipment, specifying its intended use, method of use, expiry date, storage, cleaning and maintenance conditions - and where necessary organise demonstrations of use, especially for equipment whose incorrect donning itself creates a risk (e.g. fall-arrest harnesses).
How to prepare the company for a labour inspection audit in the PPE area
In practice, the outcome of an inspection in the PPE area is decided by documents and habits. The sequence of actions that brings order to this area:
- Verify the occupational risk assessment for every work station and extract from it the list of agents the PPE is supposed to protect against - this is the basis for selection under § 39 of the general regulation.
- Check the PPE allocation table (reflecting the guidance of tables 1-3 of annex no. 2) and the work regulations; update both documents after technological changes.
- Walk through the warehouse and the stations: every PPE item with CE marking, a complete EU declaration of conformity and instructions in Polish; withdraw equipment without documents or with compromised integrity.
- Document the issues and the training in use - confirmation that the employee knew how to use a given item most often takes the form of a signature on the issue card.
- Set up the service loop: laundering, maintenance, repair and replacement per manufacturer’s intervals, with separate storage for contaminated PPE; where an employee uses their own work clothing, the cash equivalent under the agreement.
- Before an inspection, run an internal audit: is anyone working without required PPE, is anyone entrusting employees with laundering of contaminated equipment, and are the issue cards up to date.
FAQ - the most common questions about PPE
What counts as personal protective equipment? PPE covers protective clothing (coveralls, jackets, aprons), helmets, protective glasses and goggles, face shields, earmuffs and earplugs, half-masks and masks, gloves and safety footwear, and equipment protecting against falls from height. Ordinary work clothing, uniforms, military and police equipment, rescue-service equipment, means used under road-traffic law, sports equipment and self-defence means do not count as PPE.
Can the employer charge the employee for PPE? No. Under art. 237⁶ § 1 of the Labour Code personal protective equipment is provided free of charge and remains the property of the employer (art. 237⁸ § 2 LC). The employee only refunds the non-depreciated value in the event of loss or damage through their fault.
Can an employee refuse to work without PPE? Yes. When working conditions pose a direct threat to health or life and the employee has not been equipped with the required protective equipment, they may under art. 210 § 1 of the Labour Code withhold work performance, notifying the supervisor immediately. They cannot suffer adverse consequences for doing so.
What are the penalties for missing PPE or PPE without the CE mark? Allowing an employee to work without the protective equipment planned for the station violates OHS provisions, and providing PPE that fails to meet conformity-assessment requirements is an offence under art. 283 § 2 pt. 4 of the Labour Code. Both situations carry a fine of PLN 2,000 to PLN 60,000 (art. 283 § 1 LC).
Can several employees share the same PPE? Only exceptionally. Personal protective equipment is intended for personal use, and shared use is admissible provided measures have been applied that exclude any undesirable impact of such use on users’ health or hygiene - in practice, disinfection and hygienic storage between shifts.
Can the employee wash their PPE themselves? Ordinary PPE - no. Maintenance, laundering, dedusting and decontamination of personal protective equipment are the employer’s duties and cannot be entrusted to employees (art. 237⁹ § 2 LC). The exception is ordinary work clothing, which the employee may wash personally after receiving a cash equivalent, where the employer cannot ensure laundering (art. 237⁹ § 3 LC).
Key takeaways
- PPE is the last element of the hierarchy: first elimination of hazards and collective protection, only then personal equipment - but where it is needed, its selection and free provision is a statutory duty of the employer.
- Every PPE item must carry the CE marking and an EU declaration of conformity (Regulation (EU) 2016/425), and its selection must follow from the risk assessment and be consulted with employees.
- Laundering, maintenance and replacement are the employer’s duties; allowing work without required PPE or providing equipment without conformity assessment carries a fine of PLN 2,000 to PLN 60,000.
If you are not sure whether equipping employees with PPE in your company is complete and well documented, use our OHS outsourcing services or contact us - we will help you go from risk assessment to ready issue documentation before a labour inspection.
Sources
- Act of 26 June 1974 - Labour Code - consolidated text (Journal of Laws 2025 item 277) - ELI
- Regulation of the Minister of Economy, Labour and Social Policy on general occupational health and safety provisions - consolidated text (Journal of Laws 2003 item 1650) - ELI
- Regulation (EU) 2016/425 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 9 March 2016 on personal protective equipment - EUR-Lex
- Act of 11 March 2026 amending the Act on the State Labour Inspection (Journal of Laws 2026 item 473) - ELI
- State Labour Inspectorate - legal advice: Personal protective equipment
- State Labour Inspectorate - legal advice: Work clothing and footwear
Legal status: September 2026. This article is for information only and does not constitute legal advice. For individual cases consult a lawyer or an OHS specialist.
