Gloves are the PPE people replace most often and think about least. Most buyers pick on price and grip, then wonder why they are getting through boxes of them. The markings on the glove tell you what it is actually built to resist, and once you can read them the choice gets a lot easier.
What EN 388 is
EN 388 is the European standard for gloves that protect against mechanical risks: the things on a site or in a workshop that abrade, cut, tear or puncture. A glove tested to it carries a small hammer pictogram followed by a sequence of performance figures.
Important framing before we get into the detail: EN 388 covers mechanical risk only. It says nothing about chemicals, heat, cold or electrical hazards, which have their own separate standards. A glove can score brilliantly on EN 388 and be entirely wrong for the job you had in mind.
Reading the sequence
Under the hammer pictogram you will see up to six characters. Each position always means the same thing, and they are read left to right.
| Position | What it measures | Scale |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Abrasion resistance — rubbing and general wear | 1 to 4 |
| 2 | Cut resistance (Coup test) | 1 to 5 |
| 3 | Tear resistance | 1 to 4 |
| 4 | Puncture resistance | 1 to 4 |
| 5 | Cut resistance (TDM test, ISO 13997) | A to F |
| 6 | Impact protection, if tested | P or blank |
For the numbered positions, higher is better. For the letter, F is the highest cut level and A the lowest. An X in any position means that property was not tested or the test did not apply to that glove.
The two cut ratings, and why there are two
The one that confuses people most is having cut resistance measured twice, in positions 2 and 5.
- Position 2 (the 1–5 number) comes from the older Coup test, where a circular blade moves across the fabric.
- Position 5 (the A–F letter) comes from the TDM test to ISO 13997, which uses a straight blade under increasing load.
The practical reason the letter matters: highly cut-resistant materials blunt the Coup test blade, which can make that result unreliable on exactly the gloves you would buy for cut protection. Where both are shown, the A–F letter is the more dependable figure for high cut-risk work.
Matching gloves to the work
Some rough guidance on where to focus, before your risk assessment refines it:
- General handling, warehousing, assembly — prioritise abrasion and grip, with dexterity that lets people actually do the job. An over-specified glove that gets removed protects nobody.
- Glass, sheet metal, blades, strapping — this is where the cut letter matters. Look at position 5 first.
- Construction, demolition, heavy plant — consider impact protection (the P marking) alongside abrasion and tear.
- Groundwork, landscaping, brambles and thorns — puncture and tear resistance tend to matter more than raw cut level. See our landscaping workwear page.
Fit and dexterity are part of the safety story
The best-rated glove in the world does nothing in someone's back pocket. Gloves that are too big snag, gloves that are too tight get taken off, and gloves that stop people handling fixings get abandoned by lunchtime. Buy for the job people actually do, and get sizes right across the team rather than ordering one size for everyone.
The same principle applies across the whole kit. Our workwear sizing guide covers getting sizes right first time, and our safety boot ratings guide does the same job this article does, for footwear.
Care and replacement
Gloves are consumables. A glove with a hole in it, a worn palm or a compromised coating is no longer performing to the rating printed on it. Build replacement into your ordering rhythm rather than waiting for someone to complain, and store gloves clean and dry so they are not degrading in the van between jobs.
Not sure what your team should be wearing? Tell us the task and we will help you match the right level. We supply hand protection alongside the rest of the kit, so it can arrive in the same order as your branded workwear.
