In 1986, the European Commission, the "Directive (European Union Law)") 89/686/EEC[1]​ of the Council of 30-11-1989, established the minimum health and safety provisions for the use by workers at work of personal protective equipment. For the purposes of this Directive, personal protective equipment (PPE) is understood as any equipment intended to be worn or held by the worker to protect him or her from one or more risks that may threaten his or her safety or health at work, as well as any complement or accessory intended for this purpose.[2]​.

While Royal Decree 773/1997 of May 30, on minimum health and safety provisions relating to the use by workers of personal protective equipment, defines personal protective equipment as "any equipment intended to be worn or held by the worker to protect him from one or more risks that may threaten his safety or health, as well as any complement or accessory intended for this purpose",[3]​ excluding the following equipment:.

Apart from individual protection, there is another so-called collective protection, which are measures that try to protect workers as a whole and their facilities.

Personal protective equipment must be used when risks cannot be avoided or cannot be sufficiently limited by technical means of collective protection or by work organization measures, methods or procedures.[5]​.

If circumstances require the use of individual equipment by several people, appropriate measures must be taken to ensure that such use does not cause any health or hygiene problems for the different users.

Once PPE is chosen and depending on the result of the actions carried out, the employer must verify the conformity of the chosen equipment with the conditions and requirements indicated in article 5 of RD 773/1997.[6]​.

Consequences derived from the Security Conditions.

Consequences derived from Workload.