Employers, don't underestimate your responsibility

Home washing can affect your employees' safety, as well as your liability

According to EU legislation, employers are legally responsible for the health and safety of their employees. Amongst other duties, they have to provide their employees with protective workwear and other personal protective equipment (PPE) that complies with European laws and European and international standards.

But, their legal responsibility doesn't end there. In fact, employers have to make sure these standards are respected throughout the lifetime of the workwear. However, reality shows that in many companies, employees are entrusted with the care and maintenance of their own workwear. This practice is not without risk.

The results of a GfK survey into consumers' behaviour when washing workwear at home, show that these home washing habits can affect the workwear's protective properties and jeopardize the safety of the wearer. Read the full GfK study results.

Workwear should not be washed at home because:

1. Home washing offers no reassurance that all stains and soils are adequately removed without compromising the protective properties;
2. Home washing habits may partially or completely reduce the effectiveness of the workwear's protective qualities, hence jeopardizing the wearer's safety;
3. Workwear washed at home is not inspected and retreated as it is in an industrial laundry;
4. Home washing does not track the number of washes or the wear and tear of the garment, which provides vital information as to when workwear must be replaced.

Read the full ETSA communication:

 English;  Danish;  Dutch;  Finnish;  French;  German;  Italian;  Norwegian;  Swedish

Read the ETSA press release:

 English;  Danish;  Dutch;  Finnish;  French;  German;  Italian;  Norwegian;  Swedish