Should Wearing Shorts on Site be Banned?

If there is one subject that will always provoke strong views on site it is whether the wearing of shorts can and should be banned. Site bans of shorts are not uncommon now and some companies have taken to banning shorts across all of their sites.

Contractors have an absolute right (and a duty) to insist on the wearing of appropriate PPE and in some cases have taken the view that long trousers constitute PPE. The risks that are normally cited by contractors are things like splashes of hazardous materials such as wet cement or hot bitumen, cuts and abrasions and skin cancers.

It is clear that long trousers will provide some measure of protection from minor cuts and scratches and cement splashes but their effectiveness is extremely limited and given that they comply with no common specification cannot be relied on legally as PPE in this respect. And certainly, if more serious cuts are foreseen, for example from the use of bladed power tools such as chain saws, then the risk assessment would surely indicate specialist cut-resistant trousers: ordinary cotton trousers would not do the job. However, even minor cuts can become infected and lead to more serious issues later.

The risk of skin cancer is of course a real one and one that should not be overlooked. Skin cancer is very common: around 147, 000 cases of non-melanoma skin cancer are diagnosed in the UK each year and outdoor workers are disproportionately represented in that group. There is also a clear and well-established link between exposure to the sun and some other cancers such as melanoma. But it is worth remembering that most skin cancers occur on the upper body with the legs being at lower risk (but not at no risk) which would seem to suggest that covering arms would be a more effective control. It is also the case that fair-skinned or freckled people are at higher risk: How do we protect them better?

There are, however, arguments in favour of wearing shorts, the best of them being that during periods of hot weather they reduce the risk of heat-related illnesses such as heat stroke which is always serious and can be life-threatening. Heat stroke is surprisingly common in the UK with about 2,000 deaths from the condition each year. Those of us who will remember the long hot summer of 1976 will all have had to cope with cases of heat -related illness on site. One large road construction site in the Westcountry for instance had no less than 16 cases of heat-related illness requiring hospitalisation during that summer. Today, the site first aiders may well consider it preferable to have to treat a case of a cut leg or cement splashes than a case of heat stroke especially if the casualty is unfortunate enough not to reach the hospital in time to be saved.

So, it is clear that there are arguments for and against bans on shorts and the competent contractor will want to weigh the advantages and disadvantages carefully before coming to a conclusion. There are many factors to consider and it may be that blanket bans on shorts are simply not flexible enough to respond to changing conditions.

Whatever way you choose you will need to communicate to your workers what you want them to do. This can be done by posters, tool box talks and at induction and good administrative support is a valuable asset in preparing really effective communications materials. I can help with that. Contact me to find out more.

Image: Kravets Misha on Shutterstock

Copyright © July 2021 David Bell