Transitional periods

The Personal Protective Equipment Regulation (EU) 2016/425 will apply from 21 April 2018.

  • PPE in conformity with the Personal Protective Equipment Regulation can be placed on the market from 21 April 2018.
  • PPE in conformity with the Personal Protective Equipment Directive 89/686/EEC, in Finland the Government Decision on Personal Protective Equipment (Valtioneuvoston päätös henkilönsuojaimista 1406/1993), can be placed on the market until 20 April 2019.
  • Sales of PPE manufactured in conformity with the Directive and placed on the market, i.e. made available on the EU market for the first time, before 21 April 2019 is still allowed unless the PPE becomes obsolete before that date or cause danger to the user.
  • EC type-examination certificates issued under the Directive remain valid until 21 April 2023 unless they expire before that date.
  • Each individual PPE placed on the market from 21 April 2019 onwards must comply with the requirements of the Personal Protective Equipment Regulation.

Answers to frequently asked questions can be found in the guidance document published by the European Commission.

Type-examination certificate

EC type-examination certificates issued under the Personal Protective Equipment Directive remain valid until 21 April 2023 unless they expire before that date. The type-examination certificate must be renewed before 21 April 2019 if

  • a higher protection level than in the Directive is required because one or more essential requirements have changed. A change in the contents of operating instructions is not a significant change and does not require renewal of the type-examination certificate.
  • PPE model and/or its manufacturing has been changed, or
  • change in the state of the art has taken place – for example, a harmonised standard is replaced by a new standard version that presents significant changes compared with the technology or level of safety presented in the previous standard.

Legislation

Personal Protective Equipment Regulation (EU) 2016/425

Personal Protective Equipment Directive 89/686/EEC, repealed 21 April 2018

Act on the Personal Protective Equipment Intended for Consumer Use 218/2018

Government Decree on Repealing the Government Decision on Personal Protective Equipment 221/2018

FAQ on EU’s Personal Protective Equipment Regulation

Can oven gloves without a CE marking be placed on the market between 21 April 2018 and 21 April 2019?

Can oven gloves without a CE marking be sold in shops after 21 April 2019, if they are placed on the market before 21 April 2019?

The Personal Protective Equipment Regulation (EU) 2016/425 will apply from 21 April 2018. Oven gloves without CE markings may be present in the sales chain after 21 April 2018, if they were placed on the markets before the abovementioned data and pose no danger to the user. The Commission’s FAQ document, Guidance Document on the PPE Transition from Directive 89/686/EEC to Regulation (EU) 2016/425, suggests that oven gloves intended for consumer use can still be placed on the market, without CE markings, until April 2019. Products that are already in the distribution chain can still be sold after April 2019.

To what risk category do oven gloves belong?

At its meeting on 12 March 2018, the PPE Working Group, which considers issues related to the Personal Protective Equipment Directive, viewed personal protective equipment for private use against heat as belonging to PPE risk category II. According to the PPE Regulation, the scope of the regulation will also cover personal protective equipment for private use against heat. Annex I of the Regulation provides that category III includes, inter alia, risks related to high temperatures with effects comparable to those caused by an air temperature of at least 100°C.

Are pot-holders considered personal protective equipment against heat?

At its meeting on 19 November 2018, the PPE Working Group, which considers issues related to the Personal Protective Equipment Directive, considered pot-holders and their equivalents intended for private use to be protective personal equipment.

Is there a standard, which sets out the related requirements, covering oven gloves intended for personal use?

As yet, there is no harmonised standard which presents the requirements and test methods covering oven gloves or personal protective equipment against heat intended for private use. The PPE Regulation states that personal protective equipment must comply with the applicable health and safety requirements.