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Free toolbox talk · PPE

PPE toolbox talk

A toolbox talk on personal protective equipment, written to be read aloud in about six minutes: why PPE is the last line and not the first, what the law says about providing it, fitting it and wearing it, and the checks before the kit goes on. The last page is the attendance record.

Download the talk as PDF Download the Word version

PDF · 3 pages · 206 KB · Word 41 KB · Free to use and reuse · Terms

Law
PPE at Work Regulations 1992, amended 2022
Time to deliver
About six minutes
Format
PDF and Word, with a sign-off sheet
Cost
Free, always

What this toolbox talk covers

This talk is for anyone who is issued personal protective equipment on site: hard hat, safety boots, eye protection, gloves, hearing protection, hi-vis, a harness or a dust mask. It takes about six minutes to give and covers why PPE comes last in the order of controls, what the employer has to provide and pay for, what the person wearing it has to do, and why a mask that does not seal to the face protects nobody.

It is written to be read aloud, with the points a supervisor makes in the order they make them, two short lists of do and do not, and questions to put to the team so the talk is a conversation rather than a reading. The last page is the record: who gave it, who heard it and what was raised.

Since 6 April 2022 the Regulations cover workers as well as employees, so casual and agency labour on a personal contract are owed the same kit, free of charge, as the people on the books. Where the hazard is a substance, the COSHH guide and the face fit testing guide carry the detail on respiratory protection that this talk briefs.

Checked against HSE guidance and legislation.gov.uk on .

Toolbox talk · About six minutes

PPE: the talk

Read it as written or in your own words. Tick each point as you make it. Stop for the questions.

Why it matters

HSE estimates that about 11,000 people a year in Great Britain die of lung disease linked to what they breathed in at work. These diseases take years to develop, so the people dying now were exposed long ago. HSE is plain about the other half of it: a mask cannot protect you if it leaks, and poor fit is a major cause of leaks. What you breathe in today shows up years from now.

PPE is personal. A guardrail protects everyone on the floor whether they think about it or not. A pair of glasses only protects the person wearing them, only when they are on, and only if they are the right pair for the job. That is why the law puts it last, and why we talk about it today.

HSE, Work-related ill health and occupational disease in Great Britain

The points to make

PPE is the last line

Before anyone reaches for the kit, the job is planned to take the risk away: a different method, a guard, extraction on the tool, water on the cut. PPE covers the risk that is left. If the only thing between you and the hazard is what you are wearing, the plan needs another look.

It is provided, and it is free

The employer provides suitable PPE for any risk that is not controlled another way, and there is no charge, no deposit and no deduction. Since April 2022 that covers workers on a personal contract as well as employees. Self-employed people provide their own to the same standard.

Right kit for the risk and the person

Suitable means it fits you, it is made for this hazard and these conditions, and it works with everything else you are wearing. A hard hat that will not sit over ear defenders, or glasses that fog under a visor, are not suitable together. If something does not fit or does not go together, say so and it gets changed.

Masks only work when they seal

A tight-fitting mask, disposable or half mask, needs a face fit test for that make, model, type and size, and a clean-shaven face where the seal sits. Stubble lifts the edge and the dust goes round it. If you cannot be clean shaven, you need a hood or visor that does not rely on a seal, not a mask that leaks.

Check it before it goes on

Cracked lens, split glove, boot sole worn through, lanyard frayed, harness stitching cut, hat that has taken a knock. Look before you put it on. Damaged kit is reported and replaced before the job starts, not after it.

Wear it the way you were shown

Every piece of PPE comes with instruction on what it protects against, how to wear it and how to look after it. Glasses on the forehead, hat with the strap off, mask under the chin while you talk: in each case the kit is there and the protection is not. If you were never shown, ask now.

Look after it and put it back

PPE is kept clean and in working order and goes back to where it lives at the end of the shift, not in the footwell of the van. A disposable mask marked NR is for one shift and goes in the bin at the end of it. A mask kept in a dusty pocket carries the dust straight to your face next morning.

Do

  • Ask what control takes the risk away before you rely on what you are wearing.
  • Check your PPE before each use, and report loss or damage straight away.
  • Wear it for the whole task, including the last five minutes.
  • Come clean shaven on days you will wear a tight-fitting mask, and wear the make, model and size you were fit tested on.
  • Wear hearing protection and eye protection whenever the task or the signs call for it, and take them off only when you are clear.
  • Store PPE where it is kept and bin disposable masks at the end of the shift.

Do not

  • Do not pay for PPE the job needs, and do not accept a deduction for it. Tell us if anyone asks.
  • Do not wear a tight-fitting mask with stubble or a beard where it seals.
  • Do not use a mask you have not been fit tested on, even if it looks the same.
  • Do not modify PPE: no holes in the hat, no chin strap removed, no visor taken off a hood.
  • Do not carry on with damaged or missing kit because the job is nearly done.
  • Do not share masks, ear plugs or anything else issued to you alone for hygiene. Ask for your own.

Ask the team

  • What are we wearing today, and what risk is each item there for?
  • Who has a tight-fitting mask on this job, and when were they last fit tested on that model?
  • Where does the PPE live on this site, and who do you tell when something is damaged?
  • Is there anything you have been issued that does not fit, fogs up, or will not work with the rest of your kit?
  • Which jobs this week could be set up so the PPE is not the only control?

To close

Nobody breathes in dust or takes a chip in the eye on purpose. It happens because the glasses were on the forehead for a second, the mask was in the pocket, or the strap was broken and the job was nearly done. The kit is provided, it is free, and it only works on you. If it is missing, damaged or wrong, stop and tell us, and we will sort it.

Record it. Who gave the talk, where, when, who was there and what was raised. The last page of the sheet is the record.

In Unibuild a talk is read in each operative’s own language and signed on the phone. How toolbox talks work

The law behind this talk

Checked against the source

Provided, suitable and at no cost

Every employer ensures that suitable personal protective equipment is provided to their workers who may be exposed to a risk to their health or safety while at work, except where and to the extent that the risk has been adequately controlled by other means which are equally or more effective. Suitable means appropriate for the risk, the conditions and the period it is worn, taking account of the wearer, and capable of fitting the wearer correctly. Section 9 of the 1974 Act, as applied by regulation 3A, means no charge can be made for it.

Personal Protective Equipment at Work Regulations 1992, regulations 3A and 4

Workers, not only employees

From 6 April 2022 the duties in regulations 4 to 11 apply to workers, a term that now includes people who work under any contract to do or perform work personally, commonly called limb (b) workers, as well as employees. Casual and agency workers on a personal contract are owed the same PPE, free of charge, as employees.

Personal Protective Equipment at Work (Amendment) Regulations 2022

Assessed, maintained and stored

Before choosing PPE the employer ensures an assessment is made of whether it is suitable: the risks not avoided by other means, the characteristics the kit needs, and whether it is compatible with other PPE worn at the same time. PPE provided is maintained, including replaced or cleaned as appropriate, in an efficient state, in efficient working order and in good repair, and appropriate accommodation is provided for it when it is not being used.

Personal Protective Equipment at Work Regulations 1992, regulations 6, 7 and 8

Instruction, use and reporting

The employer provides information, instruction and training on the risks the PPE will avoid or limit, how it is to be used and how it is kept in good order, in a form the worker can understand, with demonstrations where appropriate and at suitable intervals. The employer takes all reasonable steps to ensure it is properly used. Every worker uses it in accordance with that training and instruction, returns it to its storage after use, and reports any loss or obvious defect to the employer straight away.

Personal Protective Equipment at Work Regulations 1992, regulations 9, 10 and 11

What is on the sheet

3 pages, the talk and the record

The talk, over two pages

Why it matters, the points to make, do and do not, and the questions to ask, laid out to read from in the cabin or at the workface. Space at the top for the site, the date and who is giving it.

The last page, the record

The attendance record: each person's name, company and signature, the questions raised and any actions, signed off by the person who gave the talk. Type into it or print it and pass it round.

The Word version

The same talk as a Word document, so you can put your own letterhead on it, add a site photograph or change a point to match how your job is set up.

Download the talk as PDF Word versionPDF · 3 pages · 206 KB
After it is given

Delivered on the phone, signed in the room

On Unibuild a toolbox talk is picked from the library, read by each operative on their own phone in their own language and signed there and then. The record is filed against the operative, the site and the date.

A site manager sees who has had which talk, and who has not, without a sheet going round on Thursday.

How toolbox talks work on Unibuild
How long should a PPE toolbox talk be?
About five to ten minutes. This one reads in about six if you make every point and stop for the questions. It is a briefing, not training. Instruction on a particular item, such as a harness or a mask, is given separately and recorded in the training matrix.
Do we have to give PPE to agency and casual workers?
Yes. Since 6 April 2022 the Regulations cover workers on a personal contract, often called limb (b) workers, as well as employees. They are owed suitable PPE, free of charge, with the same instruction, maintenance and storage. Genuinely self-employed people provide their own.
Can we charge a deposit or deduct for lost PPE?
No. Section 9 of the Health and Safety at Work Act, applied to workers by regulation 3A since the 2022 amendment, means the employer cannot charge for PPE the risk assessment says is needed. HSE puts the worker side of it as looking after the kit and making it last a reasonable time. Loss and damage are reported under regulation 11 and the item is replaced.
Who needs a face fit test?
Anyone who wears a tight-fitting mask, which includes disposable FFP masks and half masks. HSE says a tight-fitting facepiece cannot protect the wearer if it leaks, and poor fit is a major cause of leaks. The test is for the make, model, type and size worn, each type worn is tested, and it is done by someone competent. The wearer is clean shaven where the mask seals.
How often should we give this talk?
The law does not set an interval. Give it when a team starts on a job, when the PPE changes, after an injury or near miss involving kit anywhere on site, and as part of a rolling programme so no topic goes more than a few months without a refresh. Record each delivery.
Who can deliver a toolbox talk on PPE?
A supervisor, site manager or a competent member of the team who knows what has been issued on this site and why. The person giving it should be able to answer the questions on the sheet, including where the kit is kept and who replaces it. If they cannot, they bring someone who can.
Do we have to keep a record of the talk?
No regulation names toolbox talk records, but regulation 9 requires information and instruction on PPE, and a signed attendance record with the date and topic is the usual evidence that it was given. Most principal contractors and auditors ask for it. The last page of the sheet is that record.
Is this PPE toolbox talk free?
Yes. Download it, print it, give it, edit it and put your own name on it, including on paid work and for clients, with no sign-up and no email address.

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Each with a PDF and Word sheet and an attendance record
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Health and hazardous substances

Site, fire and housekeeping

Plant, tools and electricity

People and wellbeing

The blank toolbox talk template, the toolbox talk register, every talk by topic and every other free form are on Free downloads.

Next step

The talk given, understood
and on record.

Unibuild keeps every toolbox talk against the operative who signed it, the site and the date, for seven years, ready for the principal contractor or an auditor.

Book a demo → See toolbox talks on Unibuild