You can charge the employees a certain percentage of the cost of
PPE and offer them the option to have the safety footware or not -
though it's not an option to go out on site without the safety
footware.
Basically, pay the contribution or don't go on site. Don't go
on-site, don't work.
That's what happened to us when I worked for a warehousing firm
about 4 years ago. You barely notice the cost go out of your
wages for the safety gear, and a company can buy them in bulk
fairly cheap.
You would also need to distribute the PPE and set ground-rules
for it. Hi-Vis vests are fairly cheap, so you could say,
employees are required to wear a hi-vis vest on site at all
times, no vest - no work. You're entitled to 1 hi-vis vest every
6 months... look after it. Same with the boots. If they're lost
or damaged, or un-usable, you can then charge again for the PPE
replacement. PPE can be locked away and distributed as needed.
You'll probably find that people are willing to throw away £10.00
for a pair of boots, to keep their jobs.
(
http://www.bestinthecountry.co.uk/workwear/standard_safety_boots/click_dual_density_chukka_safety_boot/10069_p.html
)
You could charge 8.00 for a pair of safety boots, and as you can
see in the link above, they're 8.24 if you buy over 21 pairs. Or
a tenner if you buy less. This way, the company isn't shelling
out tons of cash, and the dent in the employee's wages isn't
significantly noticeable.
Hope this helps!
