Sector guide · Agriculture
Farming has one of the worst fatal-injury rates of any British industry, and its hazard list reads like the index of a safety textbook: machinery, livestock, chemicals, dust, height, weather. The workwear answer isn't one heroic garment — it's a task-mapped wardrobe the whole farm actually follows.
The sector
The same person might spend one day fixing a baler, the next TB-testing cattle, the third mixing spray — three unrelated hazard profiles sharing a kettle. The farms that get workwear right run it like the rest of their compliance: a short list per task, hanging where the task starts. Machinery work means fitted, snag-free kit (the PTO rule never retires); livestock means S5 safety wellingtons and waterproofs; chemical days mean the label's PPE, read that morning; dusty barns mean FFP respirators before the cough, not after.
Our farm worker role guide walks the individual's wardrobe; this page is the employer's map — including the contractors, students and seasonal staff who arrive each year with trainers and optimism.
Kit by task
| Work | The kit that matters | The spec detail |
|---|---|---|
| Machinery & workshop | Fitted coveralls, cut gloves, hearing protection | EN 352 — dryers, saws and old cabs |
| Livestock & yard | S5 wellingtons, waterproofs, gauntlets | Crush, slurry and washdown — the codes |
| Spraying & chemicals | PPE per product label; splash or disposable coveralls | EN 13034; label beats habit |
| Grain, straw & poultry dust | FFP2/FFP3, eye protection | Organic dusts sensitise lungs permanently |
| Estate & forestry tasks | Certified chainsaw kit where saws run | The classes and types |
Management notes
Questions
PPE that task risk assessments require — safety footwear where specified, chemical-handling PPE per product labels, respirators for dusty work, hearing protection around loud plant, chainsaw kit for saw tasks — provided free to employees. General workwear (overalls, weather kit) practice varies, but the protective layer is the employer's duty.
S5 combines a protective toe and midsole with a fully waterproof, washable boot — matching yards that are simultaneously crush-risk (hooves, gates, machinery) and slurry-wet with daily washdown. Leather site boots die fast in that chemistry; unprotected wellingtons gamble the toes.
FFP2 as a working minimum and FFP3 where dust is heavy or prolonged — organic dusts from grain, straw and poultry cause permanent sensitisation and farmer's lung. Fit matters as much as rating, and disposable respirators are single-shift items in dusty barns.
Send the roles and headcount — we'll come back with a kit list per role, embroidered and priced.