Protective equipment

dlk

What advice does anyone who understands employee rights have for my wife.
She is a teaching assistant in a high school and although she's only due to return to school once a week we have bought face masks and disposable gloves for her to wear.
The issue isn't going back to work, the issue is that the school have stated that no protective equipment such as face masks are allowed. Surely a person should be allowed to make a choice if they want to wear their own equipment, we aren't asking them to pay for it.

Do she have any rights here or can they enforce this that she isn't allowed to wear her face mask?

Lomast

If their risk assessment says it's not needed then yes that can refuse to let her wear it.
Unless she is planning on wearing a proper filtered mask then face masks really offer very little protection and regular hand washing and good hygiene should be sufficient

TELLIT01

Medical advice is that gloves are not a good idea.  They pick up germs/virus and spread them to the next surface touched.  Much better to have a regular hand washing regime.  Not-medical face masks may help reduce the spread from an infected person, but give very little protection from the virus to others.

sharpe106

Unless you are provided with PPE or it is risk assessed that you need it then there is no need. What you get from the shops will offer very little protection, sometimes make it worse. Wash hands wipe down surfaces and be sensible will cut down chance of getting it.