In every job it is necessary to observe the general rules of health and safety at work, and in most cases it is necessary to wear work clothes adapted to the nature of the duties performed and the place of work itself. Such rules generate many questions, including who should provide specialist clothing and what is part of it. It is important to know the answers to these questions in order to ensure that you are comfortable and adequately protected in the performance of your duties at work.

Health and safety rules and workwear

The health and safety rules for wearing workwear clearly state that employers must ensure that their employees are provided with safe and healthy working conditions. For this to be possible, it is necessary, among other things, for employees to wear special workwear. When is this mandatory? Especially in situations where there is a risk of heavy soiling or rapid destruction of clothing and where the work must be carried out under conditions that ensure maximum cleanliness, e.g. in the production of foodstuffs.

Workwear vs. protective clothing

At first, it is worth explaining the difference between two apparently identical terms: protective clothing and workwear. The names themselves indicate different roles for both types of clothing.

Workwear is intended to replace a worker's private clothing while he is performing his duties at the place of employment. To make it necessary to wear it, three basic conditions must be met:

- the risk of heavily soiled clothing,

- the risk of quickly destroying clothes,

the need to keep the manufactured products as clean as possible.

It should be noted that workwear provides only minimal protection against health hazards at the workplace. Clothes of this type are most often made of ordinary materials, although often very durable. Sometimes they are also of a one-off nature. Workwear is not the same as protective clothing that protects against loss of health and even life in extreme working conditions.

Workwear, which is exactly what?

Basic elements of workwear include work shoes, gloves, overalls, vests, shirts, shirts, shirts, trousers, dungarees, aprons, etc. The basic elements of workwear include work shoes, gloves, overalls, vests, shirts, shirts, trousers, dungarees, aprons, etc. More can be found in this shop, for example.

There are many parts of workwear, so you should know which parts will be useful in specific situations. The most commonly used and popular work clothes are trousers, shirts and shirts, as well as aprons, whose primary task is to protect the employee's private clothing from dirt and damage, e.g. as a result of chemical agents. At many workstations, work shoes are equally important, as they have to prove themselves even in very demanding conditions. This is possible thanks to durable materials with water-resistant properties and non-slip soles. Depending on the nature of the job, work boots can even protect against harmful chemicals. Speaking of workwear, it is also worth mentioning the overalls, which are often disposable, but work perfectly well wherever there is a need to work in conditions threatening contact with harmful substances, viruses and bacteria or various types of pollution. They are therefore useful in the pharmaceutical, food, automotive and laboratory industries. Another special feature of work clothing is the vest, which belongs to the warning clothing group, which suggests the role it plays. Yellow vests and reflective vests are the basic equipment for road workers and all those who work outside, even after dusk.

Who provides working clothes?

According to the aforementioned health and safety rules, workwear must be provided by the employer. If an employee buys individual work clothes for himself or herself, he or she must be reimbursed by his or her boss. It is worth knowing that workwear does not necessarily apply to the entire company. Office workers do not wear the same clothes as those who are employed e.g. in a production hall.