Work clothing, footwear and protective equipment: the employee allocation record

Equipment specified for the position

An employer must not allow an employee to work without the personal protective equipment and work clothing and footwear specified for use in that particular position. The Polish National Labour Inspectorate states this rule in the section concerning this equipment.

The qualification “specified for use in that particular position” is essential. This rule should not be read as a requirement to provide every employee with an identical set.

A separate record for each employee

The employer must create and maintain a separate allocation record for each employee covering:

• work clothing,
• work footwear,
• personal protective equipment.

The record also covers payments of cash equivalents for using employees’ own clothing and footwear and for washing and maintaining them. The reference to these payments should not be treated as general permission to use employees’ own clothing. The rules governing when this is permissible are outside the scope of this article.

An optional organizational checklist

You can use the following questions as an organizational aid:

• What personal protective equipment and work clothing and footwear are specified for use in the particular position?
• Does the employee have this equipment before being allowed to work?
• Has a separate record been created and is it being maintained for this employee?
• Are allocation entries and entries concerning payments of the cash equivalents mentioned above assigned to the correct employee?

This is an optional suggestion for checking how records are organized, not an official record template or an additional legal obligation.

Scope of the article

This article focuses on the allocation record and equipment specified for the position. Do not treat this record or the checklist above as an occupational risk assessment, a working-time record or a general guide to hiring employees.

The article does not specify how to select particular protective equipment, technical standards, periods of use or replacement frequency. Nor does it establish rules on when employees’ own clothing is permissible, how to calculate cash equivalents, payment deadlines, required signatures, penalties or tax treatment.