What is considered an employee's protective equipment? What is the procedure for providing employees with protective equipment? Can an employee and employer mutually agree to change the procedure for using protective equipment?
What is considered worker protection equipment?
According to subparagraph 38) of paragraph 1 of Article 1 of the Labor Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan, personal protective equipment is equipment designed to protect workers from exposure to harmful and (or) hazardous production factors, including special clothing.
In accordance with subparagraph 4) of paragraph 1 of Article 1 of the Labor Code, special clothing includes:
- clothes;
- shoes;
- headdress;
- mittens;
- other items intended to protect workers from harmful and (or) hazardous production factors.
Procedure for providing workers with protective equipment
In accordance with paragraph 2 of Article 182 of the Labor Code, the employer is obliged to ensure the issuance and repair of:
- special clothing;
- special footwear;
- detergents and disinfectants;
- first aid kit;
- milk or equivalent food products, and/or specialized products for dietary (therapeutic and preventive) nutrition;
- other means of individual and collective protection.
The list and standards for issuing protective equipment are regulated by the Rules for issuing milk or equivalent food products, therapeutic and prophylactic nutrition, special clothing and other personal protective equipment to workers, providing them with collective protective equipment, sanitary and household premises and devices at the expense of the employer.
Personal protective equipment is issued upon hiring or transferring employees to another job or in connection with the expiration of the period of use of these equipment.
The terms of use of personal protective equipment are established on a calendar basis and are calculated from the date of actual issue to workers.
What are the requirements for personal and collective protective equipment?
According to Chapter 3 of the Rules for the issuance of milk, therapeutic and prophylactic nutrition, special clothing, special footwear and other personal protective equipment to workers, provision of workers with collective protective equipment, sanitary and household premises and devices at the expense of the employer employers must purchase only certified personal protective equipment.
Personal protective equipment must meet the following requirements, that is, it must be:
- certified;
- comfortable to wear;
- do not create obstacles to traffic;
- be selected and given to workers according to the appropriate sizes.
Special clothing and special footwear that do not meet the requirements or become unusable before the expiration of the established period of use, for reasons beyond the control of the employee, are subject to replacement.
With the onset of the season, special clothing and special footwear must be returned to those workers to whom they were issued in the previous season.
Personal and collective protective equipment (gas masks, self-rescuers, safety belts, mosquito nets, helmets and other equipment) are subject to regular testing and serviceability checks, and filters, glass and other parts with reduced protective properties are subject to timely replacement. After testing, a mark (brand, stamp) must be made on the personal protective equipment indicating the dates of subsequent testing.
Can an employee and employer change the procedure for using protective equipment by mutual agreement?
In accordance with subparagraph 1) of paragraph 2 of Article 181 of the Labor Code, the employee is obliged to comply with the requirements of the norms, rules and instructions on labor safety and health.
In cases where safety requirements do not provide for certain types of personal protective equipment or strictly establish the procedure for their use, the employee and employer do not have the right to independently decide on the use of protective equipment not provided for by safety regulations. In the event that the employer undertakes to provide the employee with the personal protective equipment necessary for production that has passed certification, but does not correspond to the working conditions of a particular production facility where the employee will use this protective equipment, the employer violates the requirements established by labor legislation regarding measures to ensure labor safety.
Thus, safety requirements must be met by both the employee and the employer in accordance with the law.