Can you use shorts as workwear and stay compliant with safety regulations?

Can work shorts be workwear? 

We often see inquiries like this on our facebook groups. Today, as usual, we answer this and other popular questions briefly and without all that lawyer talk. In Poland, as in most European countries, there are regulations regulating the issue of occupational health and safety. One of the requirements that employers must comply with is to provide employees with appropriate work clothes. Among the elements of workwear there are also work shorts. However, is their use compliant with Polish law?

Work shorts and polish safety regulations - what does the law say?

The answer to this question can be found in the Regulation of the Minister of Labor and Social Policy of September 26, 1997 on general occupational health and safety regulations. According to it, workwear should provide protection against harmful factors occurring in the working environment, such as liquids, chemicals, high temperature or cold. In addition, workwear should be properly fitted to the employee's silhouette, ensure comfort and allow free movement. The concept of workwear is therefore much broader than that of protective clothing.

So do work shorts meet these requirements? The answer is yes. Work shorts are often used in industries such as construction, industry or gastronomy. After all, no one is surprised by a worker wearing shorts on a construction site, and it is certainly not a violation of health and safety regulations regarding workwear. I think that many of you cannot imagine a summer day at a construction site without Snickers 6141 work shorts. They provide protection against dirt, abrasions, dust, or minor injuries that you are exposed to during work. Of course, the shorts must be made of a suitable material that provides protection against the risks mentioned above. We would rather not call workwear sports shorts ;).Oczywiście, poza ubraniami roboczymi pracodawca powinien ponadto zapewnić pracownikom odpowiednie buty ochronne, rękawice ochronne, kurtki, czy też kaski, w zależności od rodzaju wykonywanej pracy.

Safety regulations and internal regulations of investor

Remember, however, the regulations on workwear are one thing, but there are also a lot of other health and safety regulations regulating what protection measures should be provided to the employee. For work requiring, for example, protection against hot metal splashes, the employee should be provided with protective clothing, not just work clothes. Another issue is the internal security regulations introduced by your client. If he stipulates in the general terms of the contract that all contractors and subcontractors are to work in long trousers, then by signing the contract for the performance of work you agree to these conditions and you must comply with them.

To sum up, under Polish law, work shorts may constitute an element of workwear, provided that they provide protection against harmful factors occurring in the working environment and are made of appropriate material. The employer is obliged to provide employees with appropriate working clothes that will ensure their safety and comfort at work.