Ill-fitting PPE

Public services union UNISON member, Anthony Roach, worked for Stockton Borough Council in its Neighbourhood Services team. He wore body armour to protect him against stabbings. He worked 11-hour shifts, wearing the body armour at all times, but it was faulty, second-hand and badly fitting and as a result he developed back and shoulder pain. He and colleagues complained but nothing was done to resolve the problem and eventually Mr Roach had to be placed on light duties. Mr Roach was awarded £2,000 compensation for his employer’s failure to provide adequate PPE.

In another case involving ill-fitting PPE, a traffic officer for the Highways Authority Traffic Information Services, Deborah Allen, a member of the Public and Commercial Services union, was awarded £3,600 after unsuitable footwear meant she developed Achilles tendonitis and was off work for three months. She told her employers that she suffered from eczema and that the synthetic boots they supplied would worsen her condition, and her GP also wrote to her employers. But she was told she must wear the work boots, rather than her own leather boots. As a result her feet became so painful that she could not walk.