Latex allergies: The Law

The law places specific responsibilities for managing health and safety on employers and employees.

• How the law applies to employers
• How the law applies to employees

For employers

What does the Law Say?

The Health & Safety At Work Act 1974 places a general duty upon you to keep employees, and others (such as patients), healthy & safe at work.

The Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002 ask you to undertake an assessment of any substances used at work that are hazardous to health. Natural rubber latex is hazardous to health.

What Should I Be Doing?

To ensure that you comply with your legal duties you should undertake an assessment:

• Eliminating the risk where appropriate - gloves should only be worn where there is a risk of infection
• Substituting to other glove materials where appropriate - nitrile, vinyl, synthetic
• Limiting exposure - HSE's policy for this is:

"Single use, disposable natural rubber latex gloves may be used where a risk assessment has identified them as necessary. When they are used they must be low-protein and powder-free."

The main findings of the risk assessment should be recorded. This will also help in instructing, informing & educating your staff on the risks and appropriate control measures for natural rubber latex.

You should put in place systems for ensuring that staff or patients with known latex allergies can work and be treated in a latex-safe environment.

Health surveillance

As natural rubber latex is a potential asthmagen, health surveillance of staff is required. Single use disposable NRL gloves provide the majority of exposure to NRL. As NRL produces a risk of asthma & dermatitis health surveillance is appropriate. The extent and detail of the health surveillance should be related to the degree of risk identified during the COSHH assessment & determined in consultation with an occupational health professional.

Health surveillance for non-powdered low protein gloves should include:

• An assessment of the worker's respiratory health & skin condition before they start a relevant job to provide a baseline record.
• A regular (at least annual) enquiry for dermatitis and asthma. Such an enquiry might be undertaken by written questionnaire, orally during appraisal reviews etc. Positive results should be referred to an Occupational Health professional for assessment.
• A responsible person identified and known to staff, competent to deliver these duties, and with lines of referral to an occupational doctor or nurse, for the reporting of symptoms as they might occur.
• For staff known to be sensitised to NRL and those considered to be at a high risk of developing sensitisation i.e. atopic individuals, a higher level of health surveillance including a periodic clinical assessment by an occupational health doctor or nurse will normally be deemed appropriate.
• A record of the health surveillance

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For employees

What does the Law Say?

The Health & Safety At Work Act 1974 places a general duty upon your employer to safeguard your health & safety at work. It also places a duty upon them to ensure that others, such as patients, visitors etc, who might be affected by the way the work is undertaken are not put at risk.

The Health & Safety At Work Act 1974 also puts a duty upon you to take reasonable care of your own health & safety and to co-operate with your employer in any measures he puts in place to manage health & safety.

As natural rubber latex is a substance hazardous to health your employer will undertake a risk assessment of its use, eliminating it where appropriate, substituting to other less hazardous substances, or limiting exposure where its use is deemed absolutely necessary. You will be informed of the results of this assessment and the measures you need to control the risk.

You will also be informed of steps that are deemed necessary to protect yourself, other colleagues, or patients with a known allergy to natural rubber latex.

What Should I Be Doing?

To help your employer fulfill their duties and to look after your own health & safety at work you should co-operate with your employer and follow the guidance & instructions you are given with regard to the use of natural rubber latex products.

This might mean for example not wearing gloves where there is no risk of infection, the use of nitrile or synthetic gloves, and informing your employer if you develop any particular breathing difficulties made worse by the use of natural rubber latex products.

What Should I Expect From My Employer?

You can expect your employer to provide you with guidance & information necessary to protect yourself, colleagues and patients from the risks to health of natural rubber latex products.

You can expect them to provide alternative Types of gloves, for use where gloves are necessary.

You can expect them to provide you with regular health checks (health surveillance) to identify early warning signs of any reaction to natural rubber latex. This might be in the form of a health questionnaire, or meetings and discussions with your supervisors or occupational health staff.