The Personal Protective Equipment at Work (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2024

The Personal Protective Equipment at Work Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1993 N.I.

2.—(1) The Personal Protective Equipment at Work Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1993(1) are amended in accordance with paragraphs (2) to (5).

(2) For regulation 2 (interpretation) substitute—

“In these Regulations—

“the 1978 Order” means the Health and Safety at Work (Northern Ireland) Order 1978;

“employer”, in relation to a worker, means the person by whom the worker is employed under their worker’s contract;

“offensive weapon” means any article made or adapted for use for causing injury to the person, or intended by the person having it with them for such use by them or by some other person;

“personal protective equipment”, unless the context requires otherwise, means all equipment (including clothing affording protection against the weather) which is intended to be worn or held by a person at work and which protects the person against one or more risks to that person’s health and safety, and any addition or accessory designed to meet that objective;

“worker” means an individual who has entered into or works under—

(a)

a contract of employment;

(b)

any contract, whether express or implied and (if it is express) whether oral or in writing, whereby the individual undertakes to do or perform personally any work or services for another party to the contract whose status is not by virtue of the contract that of a client or customer of any profession or business undertaking carried on by the individual;

and any reference to a worker’s contract shall be construed accordingly..”.

(3) In regulation 3(3)(2) (disapplication of these regulations)—

(a) in sub-paragraph (b) for “the Control of Lead at Work Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1986” substitute “the Control of Lead at Work Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2003(3)”; and

(b) in sub-paragraph (e) for “the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1990” substitute “the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2003(4)”.

(4) After regulation 3 insert—

“Modification of the 1978 Order

3A.— (1) The duty placed on the employer in respect of their employees by Article 10 of the 1978 Order (duty not to charge employees for things done or provided pursuant to certain specific requirements) is modified to apply in respect of the duties under these Regulations to their workers, and “employer”, as referenced in Article 10, in relation to a worker means the person by whom the worker is employed under their worker’s contract.

(2) In these Regulations, Article 2(4) of the 1978 Order (meaning of “work” and related expressions) is extended as follows—

(a) “work” includes work as a worker; and

(b) a worker is at work throughout the time when they are working under their worker’s contract, but not otherwise.”.

(5) In regulations 4 to 11, in each place it occurs—

(a) for “an employee” substitute “a worker”;

(b) for “every employee” substitute “every worker”;

(c) for “he is” substitute “they are”;

(d) for “he may” substitute “they may”;

(e) for “he shall” substitute “they shall”;

(f) for “him” substitute “them”;

(g) for “his employee” substitute “their worker”;

(h) for “his employees” substitute “their workers”;

(i) for “his employer” substitute “their employer”;

(j) for “his health” substitute “their health”;

(k) for “the employee” substitute “the worker”; and

(l) for “to employees” substitute “to workers”.

Commencement Information

I1 Reg. 2 in operation at 21.10.2024, see reg. 1(1)

(1)

S.R.1993 No.20; as amended by S.R. 2006 No. 1 and S.R. 2012 No. 179; revoked in part by S.R. 2015 No. 223 and modified by S.R. 2017 No. 229

(2)

Regulation 3(3) was amended by regulation 15(1)(a) of S.R. 2006 No. 1, Schedule 4 to, S.R. 2012 No. 179, regulation 2(2) and Table 4 of the Schedule to, S.R. 2015 No. 223 and paragraph 3 of Schedule 9 to, S.R. 2017 No. 229

(3)

S.R. 2003 No. 35

(4)

S.R.2003 No. 34