Workwear and protective clothing is one of the basic elements of the employee's equipment, which aims to provide him with safe and hygienic working conditions. This type of clothing has two basic functions: it protects the employee against various chemical, thermal, mechanical and atmospheric hazards (and then it is typically protective clothing) or substitutes for the employee's personal clothing, thus protecting them against contamination and destruction.
The work clothes usually include work trousers (of the type of gardeners), shirts or T-shirts, safety vest, jackets, capes, shoes and headgear. Detailed rules and conditions for the transfer of work clothing to employees are included in the Labor Code.
Workwear in the light of the Labor Code
Article 304 of the Labor Code contains a provision stating that every employer must provide its employees with safe and hygienic working conditions, which is performed on the premises of a given enterprise or in a place designated by the employer. Whereas article 237 of the same Code regulates the rules of granting workers work clothing while performing their official duties. This happens in two cases:
- when the employee's clothing can be heavily soiled or damaged (for example in manufacturing companies, workshops, cleaning companies, printshops or hairdressing salons),
- due to specific sanitary, technological or health-related regulations (for example in hospitals, hotels, laboratories or catering industry)
In both cases, work clothes are made available free of charge, but always remain the property of the employer and should be treated as entrusted property. It is also worth mentioning here that in some cases the same employee can buy the necessary safety uniform. However, in this situation, the employer's duty is to accurately account for the costs incurred by the employee and to pay him the appropriate amount of money.