Why You Should Never Wear a Hoodie Under a Hard Hat

Hard hats are great for protection, but they’re not exactly cosy. On a cold day, you might be tempted to wear the hood of your jacket or hoodie - or a woolly hat - underneath your safety helmet for warmth.

But while a hoodie or a beanie hat might keep you warm, it won’t keep you safe.

In this article, we’ll discuss the dangers of wearing incompatible head coverings under hard hats, and explain what to do instead.

The importance of hard hats

A hard hat or safety helmet is an essential part of personal protective equipment (PPE). It is designed to protect your head if you fall from height or if something falls on your head from above. Hard hats come in a range of different colours for different industries and roles.

The dangers of wearing a hoodie under a hard hat

Let’s take a look at why it’s a bad idea.

Insecure fit

If you wear a bulky layer underneath your hard hat - such as the hood of a jacket or hoodie, or a thick woolly hat - it will mean the helmet doesn’t fit your head securely. 

The hard hat will just perch on top of your head, making the fit looser than it should be. It will slip or tilt whenever you look up or down, which you’ll definitely be doing when you’re working at height or even when you’re looking upwards to check for hazards. 

A loose hard hat can be annoying, but it’s more serious than that - you won’t be properly protected, and if the helmet actually slips off your head, it could land on somebody working or passing below you.

This also applies to the wheel ratchet type of hard hat where the slipwheel needs to grip your head securely to stop the helmet falling off. 

Reduced impact protection

Although you want your hard hat to fit snugly, it is important to leave a small gap between the helmet and your head. This is because, in the event of an impact, the gap allows the energy to dissipate rather than going directly through to your head and neck.

But if you’re wearing a hoodie or a beanie under your hard hat, it reduces this gap. Any impact will therefore connect directly with your head, potentially causing more damage.

Regulatory non-compliance

Wearing a hoodie or hat under your hard hat can also cause you to be non-compliant with safety rules. The new standard EN397 20205 - a major update to European regulations - mandates that only certified and approved compatible accessories may be worn with industrial safety helmets.

Accessories include head coverings as well as things like ear defenders and goggles worn with a safety helmet. Any breach of these regulations could lead to  fines or a construction site being shut down.

Unnecessary costs

As well as the cost of non-compliance, unsafe practices can damage equipment and incur additional costs.

Manufacturers like JSP recommend that you replace your hard hat immediately after any impact or strike. But we’re not just talking about the impact of you falling from height or something heavy hitting the hat. 

If the hard hat falls off your head as a result of improper fitment and lands on the floor - especially if it falls from a height - this counts as a strike. You’ll have to replace it, which is a cost you could have avoided by wearing your helmet correctly.

What is the safe alternative?

The good news is that there is a way to keep your head warm while still being safe in your hard hat. Instead of wearing a hoodie or woollen hat underneath, you can wear a hard hat liner. 

These thermal liners are designed to fit tightly to your head without forming a thick barrier. Your helmet will fit securely, and won’t slip or fall off when you move your head. Hard hat liners don’t affect the compatibility of any neck-up PPE.

Liners keep your head cosy as they cover the tops of your ears. If you need to wear ear defenders as well as your hard hat, you can just turn up the edges of the liner. 

 

How can I ensure my head covering is compatible?

The new EN397 20205 standard states that you can’t combine head protection equipment from more than one brand - for instance, a hard hat from one brand and a liner from another - unless the manufacturers have tested and approved the combination. 

The surest way to ensure compatibility is to buy your hard hat and liners from the same manufacturer. All the hard hats and liners we sell are made by JSP, which tests its helmets and liners together to check the fit.

JSP also has the ability to test products from other brands for compatibility with JSP safety helmets. This includes the Pulsar Blizzard thermal hijab, which has been tested to make sure a JSP hard hat fits properly over it.

It’s important to train workers on why they need a compatible head covering, and make sure supervisors are on the lookout for unsafe practices.

Final thoughts

Wearing a hoodie or a thick woollen hat underneath your hard hat is dangerous, potentially causing harm to you and others and breaching compliance rules. 

To keep your head warm, you can wear a thermal liner instead - but to stay safe and compliant, you need to choose one that’s been tested for compatibility with your safety helmet. 

Buy from our range of JSP hard hat liners, or choose a product that’s been tested and approved as compatible with your preferred brand of helmet.

FAQs

Is it illegal to wear a hoodie under a hard hat?

It’s not technically against the law, because there is no law that specifically mentions hoodies. However, wearing unsuitable head coverings can breach compliance rules. 

The Personal Protective Equipment at Work Regulations 1992 stipulate that employers must ensure PPE is suitable and worn correctly, while the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) requires PPE to be used in accordance with manufacturer instructions. 

Can employers discipline workers for incorrect PPE use?

Yes. Under UK health and safety law, workers must co-operate with workplace rules. Employers have a duty of care to their workforce and they are within their rights to discipline anyone who persists in unsafe practices. 

What other risks do hoodies present?

Hoodies carry a risk of snagging, as loose drawstrings or the hood itself can get caught in tools or machinery. Hoods can also restrict your peripheral vision and prevent correct positioning if you wear a suspension harness. That’s why many UK sites - such as the rail network - enforce a complete ban on any hooded clothing.