Morning All! 

A recent query I am pondering is Provision of PPE in Construction. 

As we know, the Employer is to provide PPE, at no charge, to it's workers/sub-contractors/self-employed persons/employees etc. per the PPE Regs. 

I have noticed recently that some companies are requesting that Sub-Contractor Companies are to purchase PPE through the Contractor/Main Contractor Supply chain with their own branding and that the cost of this lays squarely at the feet of the Sub-Contractor Company. 

Typically, we provide our employees/sub-contractors with our own PPE which has been specifically assessed for our role and research undertaken to ensure it's compatible with PPE we issue out. The new PPE we have been asked to procure, at our cost, is generic and is purely for marketing purposes from what I can tell. 

There's nothing (that I can find) in the PPE or CDM Regs that specifies whether the Contractor or Principal Contractor should/shall provide PPE to its Sub-Contractor companies. 

My question is, should sub-contractor comapnies have to pay for PPE that is Client Specific rather than Task Specific? 

Any help greatly appreciated. 

Your option is this instance is to ask the cost of their specified PPE and then make sure it stands out like a sore thumb on your quotation - after all it is a project on-cost.

The really big contractors use their branded PPE to hide the fact they use sub-contract labour from anyone observing their sites and as a side impact to ensure a consistency in appearance.

Unfortunately once again this is another he who pays sets the rules scenarios - you could try and get sense from their sustainability personnel as it creates additional waste due to the branding.

Personally I believe that on major contracts where such rules apply branded items should be issued by those requiring them to be worn Fee of Charge to be returned at the end of the project - may not be so keen when they start having masses of additional disposal / recycling couning against their green claims.

Morning Paddy

As Roundtuit intimates this is a Contractual matter.

....except when it comes to the scenario where the PPE provided is not suitable - if the subbie provides stuff dictated by the Principal Contractor is NOT suitable for the purpose then the primary breach of duty would fall to the subbie - the PC might be hauled in as well.

The PC could be writing into the contracts with subbies that the subbies pay for the simple reason that they don't know what turnover of subbie personnel there might be. In turn, that is quite difficult for the subbie to price unless they price per person used - which would probably then immediately get a discussion going during the tender process as to how many personnel the subbie intends to use and possibly a contractual clause that limits the maximum number of personnel for the subbie to charge back against.