Up to now, many employers have resisted providing these groups of workers with PPE. They have often argued, for instance, that it was up to either the agency supplying the labour to pay for the PPE, or that the agency workers themselves supply, e.g. their own safety footwear.
This is especially true if the worker could only be on site for a couple of days at most. So, there are likely to be some interesting conversations ahead.
For most employers, the changes to the regulations will involve very little change, as most organisations will likely have already been providing PPE based on the nature of the role itself rather than the status of the person doing it.
In the case of employers who largely rely on workers - for example food delivery companies and construction companies - it will be a significant logistical and financial commitment having to now provide safety equipment to all their workers, where previously they would just have made it a condition of work that one was worn, with the worker or their firm having to supply their own.
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