CSCS PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) Questions
Hard hats, hi-vis, eye and hand protection — when and how PPE must be used.
PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) — practice questions (untimed, instant feedback)
- 12 questions · pass mark 90%
- Untimed practice — you see the correct answer immediately after each question.
- Some questions need more than one answer — these are clearly marked.
All 12 PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) questions and answers
These are the same 12 questions as the practice test above, written out with the correct answer and the reasoning behind it. Read them through when you want to revise rather than test yourself.
1. At what point should barrier cream be put on the skin?
Answer: Before starting the task
- A) As a first-aid measure
- B) Before starting the task (correct answer)
- C) As a substitute when gloves aren't available
- D) After finishing work
Why: Barrier cream is applied before work to help protect the skin while you work.
2. You are about to use a grinder, cut-off saw, cartridge tool or nail gun. What eye protection is needed?
Answer: Impact-rated goggles or a full face shield
- A) Impact-rated goggles or a full face shield (correct answer)
- B) Basic safety glasses
- C) Everyday reading glasses or sunglasses
- D) Goggles designed for welding
Why: High-energy tools can throw fragments, so impact-resistant goggles or a full face shield are required.
3. What does safety footwear with a protective mid-sole guard against?
Answer: Sharp objects such as nails piercing up through the sole
- A) Blisters in warm, damp conditions
- B) Sharp objects such as nails piercing up through the sole (correct answer)
- C) Spilt substances burning the sole
- D) Ankle sprains
Why: A protective mid-sole stops nails and sharp objects penetrating up through the bottom of the boot.
4. How should a safety helmet be worn to give the most protection?
Answer: Fitted squarely on the head with the harness adjusted to fit
- A) Tipped back so it sits off the forehead
- B) Worn back to front
- C) Balanced loosely on top of the head
- D) Fitted squarely on the head with the harness adjusted to fit (correct answer)
Why: A helmet only protects if it sits squarely on the head with the harness correctly adjusted.
5. In which single situation do you not need to wear head protection on site?
Answer: When in a designated safe area such as the site office
- A) When in a designated safe area such as the site office (correct answer)
- B) When working on your own
- C) When you are self-employed
- D) When the weather is hot
Why: Head protection can be removed only in a designated safe area, such as inside the site office.
6. Which of these statements about personal protective equipment (PPE) is false?
Answer: You have to pay for any loss or damage yourself
- A) You have to pay for any loss or damage yourself (correct answer)
- B) You must tell your supervisor about any loss or damage
- C) You must store it properly when it is not in use
- D) You must use it in the way you were instructed
Why: Employers provide PPE free of charge, so paying for loss or damage is not a worker's duty; the others all are.
7. A briefing said an area needs hearing protection, but there is no sign when you arrive. What should you do?
Answer: Wear it as briefed and tell your supervisor the sign is missing
- A) Carry on without it
- B) Carry on without it if the noise seems bearable
- C) Wear the protection you were told to wear
- D) Wear it as briefed and tell your supervisor the sign is missing (correct answer)
Why: Follow the briefing and wear the protection, then report the missing sign.
8. Which of these is NOT personal protective equipment?
Answer: A first-aid kit
- A) Safety goggles
- B) A high-visibility vest
- C) Earplugs
- D) A first-aid kit (correct answer)
Why: A first-aid kit is not PPE — it does not protect the wearer from a hazard.
9. When should PPE be worn on site?
Answer: Whenever the risk assessment says it is needed
- A) Only when a hazard is immediate
- B) Whenever the risk assessment says it is needed (correct answer)
- C) Only in severe weather
- D) At the worker's discretion
Why: Wear PPE whenever the risk assessment identifies the need.
10. What should you do if your PPE is damaged?
Answer: Report it to your supervisor straight away
- A) Keep working until it is convenient to replace
- B) Report it to your supervisor straight away (correct answer)
- C) Repair it yourself with tape
- D) Ignore minor damage
Why: Damaged PPE may not protect you, so report it for replacement immediately.
11. Why must PPE fit properly?
Answer: To give the best protection
- A) To look smarter
- B) To give the best protection (correct answer)
- C) To make it last longer
- D) To save money
Why: Poorly fitting PPE leaves gaps in protection.
12. What matters when choosing hearing protection?
Answer: It is comfortable enough to wear for as long as needed
- A) It matches the uniform
- B) It is comfortable enough to wear for as long as needed (correct answer)
- C) It lets you chat easily anywhere
- D) It is the cheapest option
Why: Hearing protection only works if it is comfortable enough to be worn throughout the exposure.
What this topic covers in the CSCS test
PPE is the last line of defence, not the first. It protects only the person wearing it, and only if it fits, is in good condition and is actually worn. The test checks that you know what your employer owes you, what you owe in return, and which type of protection matches which job.
- Where PPE sits in the hierarchy of control, and why it comes last
- Head protection on site, correct fit, and the turban-wearing Sikh exemption
- Eye and face protection for grinders, cut-off saws, cartridge tools and nail guns
- Safety footwear: steel toecaps against dropped objects, mid-sole plates against nails
- Hearing protection, high-visibility clothing and gloves, and why comfort and fit decide whether they work
- Who pays for PPE, and what to do when it is lost, damaged or does not fit
- Barrier cream and skin protection, and what PPE cannot do
Key facts worth memorising
- PPE is always free
- Section 9 of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 bars an employer from charging an employee for anything provided to meet a legal requirement, and HSE confirms that includes PPE.
- The hierarchy of control
- HSE ranks controls as elimination, substitution, engineering controls, administrative controls, then PPE, so PPE is the least effective option and the last one to reach for.
- Limb (b) workers since 6 April 2022
- The Personal Protective Equipment at Work (Amendment) Regulations 2022 extended PPE duties to casual and contract-for-service workers, though the change does not cover the genuinely self-employed.
- Toecap and mid-sole do different jobs
- The steel toecap protects against something dropped on the foot; the mid-sole plate stops a nail penetrating up through the sole.
- Head protection law changed in 2013
- The Construction (Head Protection) Regulations 1989 were revoked on 6 April 2013, and head protection on construction sites now falls under the Personal Protective Equipment at Work Regulations 1992.
- The turban exemption
- Section 11 of the Employment Act 1989, as amended by the Deregulation Act 2015, exempts turban-wearing Sikhs from any legal requirement to wear a safety helmet in any workplace. It covers head protection only, and all other PPE still applies.
What people get wrong
If I lose or damage my PPE I pay for the replacement.
You do not. The employer provides, maintains and replaces PPE free of charge. Your duties are to use it as instructed, store it properly and report loss or damage straight away.
Wearing PPE makes a dangerous job safe.
PPE only reduces the harm if everything else fails. It does nothing to the hazard itself, which is why HSE puts it below elimination, substitution and engineering controls.
Safety glasses are enough for a grinder or cut-off saw.
High-energy tools throw fragments at speed. Those tasks need impact-rated goggles or a full face shield.
A first-aid kit is a type of PPE.
PPE is equipment worn or held by a person at work that protects that person against a risk. A first-aid kit treats an injury after it has happened and protects nobody, so it is not PPE.
Answering these questions in the test
PPE questions usually offer one answer that puts a cost or a judgement call on the worker and three that describe genuine duties. The cost answer is the wrong one, because the employer pays. Where a question names a specific tool, match the protection to the energy involved rather than to what people usually wear. If a briefing told you to wear something and there is no sign when you arrive, the right answer is to wear it as briefed and report the missing sign, because the risk assessment sets the requirement and the sign only advertises it. Answers that let you judge whether the hazard feels bad enough today are always wrong.
Sources
Written from the following. Where a figure could not be verified against one of these, it has been left out rather than approximated — our sources and methodology explains how we date and re-check them. Spotted something wrong? Report an error and we will fix it.
Topics that come up alongside ppe (personal protective equipment)
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