Footwear Safety Standards Explained

Current Standards

All safety footwear must meet the minimum safety standards are set out by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). The current standard for Safety Footwear across Britain (BS) and Europe (EN) is BS EN ISO 20345:2022, which is identical to ISO 20345:2021. It supersedes BS EN ISO 20345:2011, which will be withdrawn on 31 March 2023. Despite EN ISO 20345:2022 being the most recent standard, most of our products are still only certified under EN ISO 20345:2011. The current standard for Occupational Footwear specifically is BS EN ISO 20347:2022, which is identical to ISO 20347:2021. It supersedes BS EN ISO 20346:2012, which is withdrawn. All this means is that these two current safety standards ensure that footwear with them meet any safety requirements that are needed by the ISO. For example, all safety footwear (20345) must have toe protection against a 200 joule impact.

Safety Footwear (EN ISO 20345) Ratings

• SB - Impact and compression resistant 200 joule toe cap
• S2 - As S1 plus water resistant upper
• S3 - As S2 plus penetration resistant midsole to 1100 Newtons
• S4 - As S1 with waterproof polymer upper
• S5 - As S4 with penetration resistant midsole to 1100 Newtons

Occupational Footwear (EN ISO 20347) Ratings

• OB - Basic requirements for occupational footwear met (contains no protective toe cap)
• O1 - As OB plus oil resistant sole, closed and energy absorbing seat region, and antistatic
• O2 - As O1 plus water penetration resistance and cleated sole
• O4 - As OB plus oil resistant sole, energy absorbing seat region, antistatic
• O5 - As O4 plus penetration resistance and cleated sole.

Slip Resistance Ratings

• SRA - Tested on ceramic tile wetted with sodium lauryl sulphate (a diluted soap solution)
• SRB - Tested on steel with glycerol
• SRC - Tested under SRA and SRB conditions

S U M M A R Y

To conclude, the safety standard for safety footwear is EN ISO 20345 and the safety standard for occupational footwear is EN ISO 20347. With all that explained, here's a link to all of our footwear that will have any safety standards listed in the product detail tab below the image.

to view our safety standard footwear workwear