Great Britain adds hairdresser gloves and new rainwear standard

Since Brexit, Great Britain keeps its own list of the standards PPE can be tested against. In practice, it mostly copies the EU, just a little later. On 15 October 2026, it caught up with the EU changes we covered in Briefing No. 1.

What’s new on the British list

• Hairdresser gloves (EN ISO 374-6). Hairdressers have their hands in dyes, bleaches, shampoo and water all day, and their skin pays the price. Until now, there was no glove standard written for that job. Now there is, and it’s on the British list as well as the EU one.
• Rainwear (EN ISO 24232). This new standard replaces the old rainwear standard, EN 343. It covers jackets and trousers that keep out rain and moisture from the ground. It doesn’t cover high-pressure water jets, and it doesn’t cover gloves, shoes or hats.
• Safety glasses and mesh visors (EN ISO 16321-1 and -3). These are listed with their latest updates. Mesh visors are the wire-mesh face shields you see on forestry helmets.
• Powered respirators. These have a small fan that blows filtered air into a hood or mask, so the wearer doesn’t have to breathe through the filter. The old 1998 standards can be used until 8 October 2027, a year longer than planned. That’s the same date as in the EU, which gives manufacturers more time to test against the new standards.
• Some old standards for the connectors on breathing apparatus are removed.

One difference to watch

The EU gave the old rainwear standard EN 343 time to phase out. In the British notice, it seems to simply disappear, with no end date. If that’s right, a jacket certified only to EN 343 could have a harder time in Great Britain than in the EU.

Why it matters

For anyone who buys or sells in both markets, this is good news. Since Brexit, many companies have had to keep two sets of paperwork. Here, at least, the two lists match again.

Source: GOV.UK, Designated standards notice 0142/26 (PPE)