The Hidden Costs of Incorrect Safety Gear: What You’re Really Paying For

Let’s talk about cost. Not the upfront invoice, that’s the easy bit. We’re talking about the real cost of getting safety gear wrong.

Because when the wrong PPE is used, whether that’s a glove that doesn’t grip, a helmet that doesn’t fit, or a safety knife that’s anything but safe — the consequences don’t just hit the first-aid box. They hit your bottom line.

The price of poor protection

On paper, a cheaper glove or basic utility knife might look like a smart saving. In practice, it’s often a fast-track to injury, downtime, claims, and unplanned expense.

Here’s what that can look like:

• £1,200 – £5,000: Average direct cost of a minor workplace injury (HSE estimates)
• £30,000+: Average cost to a business for a reportable injury, factoring in lost productivity, investigation time, potential fines, and insurance hikes
• Reputational damage: When employees lose trust in your safety culture, or your clients do

And that’s before you consider staff turnover, retraining, and the psychological impact on teams when colleagues get hurt.

The safety knife example: a small tool, a big risk

Let’s zoom in on one of the most misjudged pieces of kit: the safety knife.

Choose the wrong one, and you’re inviting:

• Laceration injuries - the most common workplace injury in many sectors
• Manual handling strains - from blades that require too much force
• Lost time incidents - every injury means paperwork and downtime

Invest in the right knife, one that retracts automatically, is task-specific, and reduces muscle strain and you’re not just protecting hands. You’re protecting profit.

Beyond knives: joined-up thinking across all PPE

The same logic applies to every piece of protective equipment. Gloves, footwear, eyewear, fall arrest kits, they all need to do more than tick a box.

Effective PPE should:

• Match the task - no one glove fits all jobs
• Fit the user - poor fit equals poor protection
• Last the course - cheap materials often cost more over time

At Dalton Safety, we see too many businesses hit by the false economy of “good enough” gear. The truth? It’s not good enough, not for your team, and not for your budget.

The smarter way forward

A proper safety strategy starts with one simple question: what could this cost me if it goes wrong?

That’s where we come in. We help you source, implement, and train your teams around the right gear, not just the one that’s available.

Not sure where the hidden risks are in your current setup? Let us take a look. We’ll help you cut the risks, not corners.

You find out more on our Assessments page.