Can we ask employees to contribute to prescription safety glasses?

No. If the risk assessment makes eye protection necessary and prescription safety eyewear is the suitable form of it, it is PPE — and section 9 of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 prohibits charging employees anything for it, including part-payment or salary deductions.

Do agency and casual workers get the same eye protection?

Yes. Since 6 April 2022 the PPE at Work Regulations extend the employer's duty — including the no-charge rule — to limb (b) workers. Whoever engages the worker under a worker's contract carries the duty.

Can an employee just wear their own glasses on the shop floor?

Not as eye protection. Everyday spectacles are not tested or marked to EN 166 and provide no rated impact protection — streetwear frames can shatter into the eye on impact. They also leave the eyes exposed around the lens. If the task needs eye protection, it needs marked, certified protection.

Does the employer have to pay for the eye test as well?

Only in the DSE case — a display screen user can request an eye test and the employer pays for it. For everyone else the routine sight test remains the employee's own, and the prescription it produces is simply used to make the safety eyewear.

How often must prescription safety glasses be replaced?

Whenever they stop being suitable — damage, wear that degrades protection, or a change in the wearer's prescription. Replacement on those grounds is part of the same PPE duty and is also provided free of charge.

Who Pays for Prescription Safety Glasses? UK Law — Certus

If a risk assessment requires eye protection, the employer pays — including prescription safety glasses. The PPE duty vs the DSE rule, explained with sources.

Certus is a UK platform for managing prescription safety eyewear compliance to EN 166, covering hazard assessments, ordering, optician verification and certificate records. Operated by Certus Safety Ltd, registered in England and Wales, company number 17364362.