Footwear

If you are on your feet at work, you should wear the right shoe for the job, choosing footwear that is appropriate for your occupation, working environment and feet.

Following a risk assessment, safety footwear may be required or recommended. If it is required or recommended, make sure you wear it. If safety footwear is not worn when required, you may receive no compensation for injury.

Also, any footwear that doesn’t fit properly can cause life-long foot problems. Problems could be easily avoided or reduced by following the right advice.

Shoe fit

Regardless of your workplace: warehouse, airport, shop, office or even at home – comfortable, properly fitted footwear is essential to maintaining good foot health. Many minor foot ailments can be relieved with properly fitted and carefully selected shoes. In many workplaces, safety shoes are necessary to protect against environmental risks, but they also need to be comfortable and correctly fitted. There is a misconception that safety shoes, especially protective toecaps, will be uncomfortable, but if the shoes are padded and fitted correctly, you should not be able to feel the toecaps at all. Women should take note that court shoe style steel toecaps are difficult to fit accurately.

Tips on getting the right fit

• Always have both feet measured because they may not be the same size. When choosing shoes, the length, width and depth of the shoes are important.
• Always try on both shoes.
• Ensure there is enough room at the front of the shoes to allow for the natural movement of your toes when walking – your toes should be able to wiggle.
• Make sure there is around 1cm space between your longest toe and the end of the shoe.
• When choosing new shoes, take time to test them out, walk around to ensure maximum comfort.
• Don’t break in new shoes. Shoes that fit well should feel comfortable.
• As you get older, your feet tend to get larger, so get them measured periodically.
• Good fit doesn’t necessarily mean expensive.