If you use safety gloves at home or at work, chances are you've heard about EN 388 at some point. As the European regulation governing the manufacture of safety gloves that protect against mechanical hazards, these numbered markings appear on almost all reusable gloves. So, what exactly is EN 388, how does it work, and why does it matter to you? We're hear with all the answers. 

We've put together this quick and easy guide to breakdown and explain EN 388, and to showcase a few of our favourite safety gloves along the way.

WHAT IS EN 388?

• EN 388 is the European equivalent of ANSI/ISEA 105

• It tests resistance to abrasion, cut, tear, puncture and impact protection gloves

• Level 4 is the maximum rating available for abrasion, tear and puncture resistance

• Cut resistance is measured up to Level 5 or Level F

• Ratings go from low to high, with a lower number (or letter) being a lesser level of protection

• If a glove is marked as "N/A" it means that they haven't been tested against a give threat

WHAT DOES EN 388 MEAN?

As previously mentioned, EN 388 is the certification awarded to a pair of work gloves when a specific set of mechanical hazard tests have been undertaken and passed. It ranks a gloves performance based on its success in these five different tests, giving the gloves a final score that allow the end user to be able to purchase the correct pair of gloves for their chosen risk.

We've listed each of the six different hazard tests below.

HOW DO I READ EN 388 MARKINGS?

If you're wondering what those strange numbers on your gloves mean, you're not alone.

These number show the score that your gloves have been given for each of the hazards tested. You can identify an EN 388 rated glove by viewing the below symbol on the back of the gloves, in the packaging or in the conformity statement.

This is an example of an EN 388 rating you may find on a glove

To make things clearer on our website, we tabulate this information so that you can find specifically which threats your gloves protect against. See below for a translation of the above example to our style of explanation.