An employee has had an operation on their foot (not a work related injury) 

The surgeon has requested the worker wear supportive footwear.

we provide footwear to those who work in tthat specific department but it is now not suitable as they lack adequate support. 

Can we ask the worker to supply their own footwear or do we have to offer an alternative? 

Edited by user 28 October 2025 14:32:27(UTC)  | Reason: spelling mistakes

Couple of questions:

1) Is this a temporary situation or will the requirement be on-going?

2) Is a support (insole) available to make the existing footwear suitable?

Otherwise your employee, your footwear rules, your bill.

Hi you say you provide footwear in the department, so i think most of us will jump to the conclusion that its PPE to protect against some specific hazard. If so others have given the answer. Even if its not PPE (just part of a uniform for example - or in the food industry footwear may be provided for hygiene reasons and not PPE)  then you need to consider if this is a reasonable adjustment under equality legislation.