WORKWEAR BLOG

Construction workers’ union UCATT believes some employment agencies are deliberately flouting safety regulations by failing to provide PPE for those workers they place in jobs. The union has become embroiled in a spat with the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) – the trade association for employment agencies – after it raised its concerns on 16 March at a meeting of CONIAC, the HSE’s Construction Industry Advisory Committee. The PPE at Work Regulations 1992 state: “Ever...

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Protective gloves, as well as any other personal protective equipment, should be conformable with the basic requirements of the European Community Council Directive No. 89/686/ECC of December 21, 1989 (with later amendments)1. All protective gloves, which are launched onto the EU’s market, should - regardless of their category - be subject of conformity assessment and marked with the CE mark of conformity. Therefore, a potential user of protective gloves should select only these brands which fulfil the criteria of t...

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My long term view is that the promotional sector is changing. I think that the days of cheap 50p throw away gadgets are ending. Promotional clients will no longer be asking how many promotional T-Shirts they can get for whatever fixed budget. If I were making promotional T-Shirts to give to people to promote my brand, I would want people to actually want to wear them! Making them desirable is paramount! It will never be a case of 'I want to wear it because it is free' is has to be a case of 'I want it beca...

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Who should report an incident? The Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 1995 (RIDDOR), place a legal duty on: employers; self-employed people; people in control of premises; to report work-related deaths[1], major injuries[2] or over-three-day injuries[3], work related diseases[4], and dangerous occurrences (near miss accidents)[5]. The easiest way to do this is by calling the Incident Contact Centre (ICC) on 0845 300 99 23 (local rate). You will be sent a copy of the inf...

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The era of cheap clothes could soon be over as rising cotton prices mark an end to bargains on the high street. This is also applicable to the Industrial Workwear Industry. Next boss Lord Wolfson has warned that 15 years of deflation (or falling prices) in clothes stores will soon be over. Next is generally seen as a retail benchmark so if the store puts up its prices it’s likely that other shops will too. Lord Wolfson says Next will have to increase its clothes prices by between 5% and 8% after a failed h...

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