Best Gloves for Electricians 2023

Working with and around electricity is incredibly dangerous. With your hands most likely to be the first point of contact with any electrical charge, it's vital you protect them at all times.

Unfortunately, there are a number of protection ratings and styles out there that can make choosing the right pair of safety gloves for you really tricky. We've put together a guide on the Best Gloves for Electricians 2023 to break things down and give you some clear and concise recommendations based on expert advice.

So What Does This Guide Cover?

• What Types of Electricians Gloves Are Available?
• What Is EN 60903?
• What Do Voltage Class Ratings Mean?
• Types of Voltage Protection Glove
• Types of Engineering Glove
• Facts and Figures
• Other Useful Pages 

Different Styles of Electrician Gloves

There are two main different types of glove that electricians will want to have in their locker. The first being a pair of lightweight safety gloves that allow the wearer to handle intricate material like wires, switches, tools and equipment.

Whilst highly dexterous and great for handling intricate material, these gloves won't guard at all against high-voltage. For serious work in and around charged material, gloves with a suitable Class rating are vital. 

EN 60903 and Voltage Protection

You may have seen EN 60903 banded around if you're on the hunt for suitable safety gloves, but what exactly does it mean? EN 60903 is the European regulation governing the design, manufacture and sale of gloves that are designed to provide protection against electrical voltage.

Gloves marked as compliant with EN 60903 are grouped into six different classes which detail how much voltage they can safely withstand and protect the wearer against.

What Are Electrician Glove Class Ratings?

Class ratings refer to the amount of voltage a pair of gloves can withstand. Tested prior to each sale to ensure their efficacy and safety, you can see just how protective each class is by consulting the table below:

What Does This Mean?

The number stated in the right column is the maximum voltage that each class will provide protection against. For example, if your risk assessment details you will be working with voltage not exceeding 17,800 volts, you need a pair of class 3 gloves. 

When Is a Class Rating Necessary?

We've liaised with product experts who recommend conducting a thorough risk assessment prior to any engagement with electrically charged material. Once this has been performed, it's vital you were class specific gloves whenever handling electrically charged material. 

Class Rated Electricians Gloves

Gloves with a class rating provide protection against voltage not exceeding their stated threshold. This relies on a thorough risk assessment being conducted before use and application.

Class 00 Elecricians Gloves

Polyco SuperGlove Volt Class 00 Electrician's Insulating Latex Gloves Pair of Polyco 500V safe electrical safety gloves Essential wear for those working around electricity Highly dexterous design enhances grip precision EN60903:2003 and IEC60903:2014 certified    In stock now £27.07Details

Class 0 Electricians Gloves

Polyco SuperGlove Volt Class 0 Electrician's Insulating Latex Gloves Pair of Polyco 1000V electrician safety gloves Essential wear for those working around electricity Highly dexterous design enhances grip precision EN60903:2003 and IEC60903:2014 certified    In stock now £30.73Details

Class 1 Electricians Gloves

Polyco SuperGlove Volt Class 1 Electrician's Insulating Latex Gloves Pair of Polyco 7500V electrician safety gloves Essential wear for those working around electricity Highly dexterous design enhances grip precision EN60903:2003 and IEC60903:2014 certified    Due to the testing of these electrician's gloves, they are usually delivered in 6 - 8 weeks £82.47Details

Class 2 Electricians Gloves

Polyco SuperGlove Volt Class 2 Electricians Insulating Latex Gloves Pair of Polyco 17000V electrician safety gloves Essential wear for those working around electricity Highly dexterous design enhances grip precision EN60903:2003 and IEC60903:2014 certified    Due to the testing of these electrician's gloves, they are usually delivered in 6 - 8 weeks £96.00Details

Class 3 Electricians Gloves

Polyco SuperGlove Volt Class 3 Electricians Insulating Latex Gloves Pair of Polyco 26500V electrician work safety gloves Essential wear for those working around electricity Highly dexterous design enhances grip precision EN60903:2003 and IEC60903:2014 certified    Due to the testing of these electrician's gloves, they are usually delivered in 6 - 8 weeks £115.28Details

Class 4 Electricians Gloves

Polyco SuperGlove Volt Class 4 Electricians Insulating Latex Gloves Pair of Polyco 36000V electrician work safety gloves Essential wear for those working around electricity Highly dexterous design enhances grip precision EN60903:2003 and IEC60903:2014 certified    Due to the testing of these electrician's gloves, they are usually delivered in 6 - 8 weeks £182.99Details

Lightweight Engineering Gloves

If you're rewiring or inspecting machine parts that aren't wired in and charged, anti-static gloves are a great choice. They're lightweight, dexterous and provide you with a better touch sensitivity that is ideal for intricate tasks.

Take a look at a few of our favourite options for electricians below:

Ansell HyFlex 48-135 Coated-Fingertip Protective ESD Gloves Pair of light-duty protective gloves Offers protection from electrostatic discharge (ESD) Seamless design enhances comfort during use Flexible fingertip coating for ease-of-movement    In stock now £1.48Details

Polyco Matrix Red PU Work Gloves MRP Pair of seamlessly knitted gloves with a polyurethane coating Ideal for a range of handling and warehouse professions  Suitable for plumbing, assembly, electronics and more Protects against dirt, scratches and abrasions    In stock now £0.75Details

Portwest A197 Anti-Static Inspection Gloves Shell gloves dissipate static electricity Ideal for use in electrical component manufacturing Protects electrical components from harmful static discharge 13 gauge super thin liner for high dexterity and lightweight feel    In stock now £0.48Details

MCR Safety GP1002PU PU Coated General Purpose Safety Gloves General purpose gloves for all-round mechanical tasks Suitable for handling, fixing, screwing, maintenance and more PU coating provides grip, sensitivity and high dexterity Price is per pair of gloves    In stock now £0.64Details

The Facts and Figures

• On average there are five deaths per year due to avoidable electrical incidents at work
• PPE exists to guard against contact with electrically charged material
• A further 1400 workers sustain serious electrical contact injury
• 37% of these incidents take place in the construction industry
• The electrical installation industry accounts for only 7% due to the accessibility of PPE

Other Useful Pages

If you haven't found what you're looking for here, take a look at some of our other informative pages by clicking a link below:

• All Electricians Gloves
• Class 00 Electrical Gloves
• Class 0 Electrical Gloves
• Class 1 Electrical Gloves
• Class 2 Electrical Gloves
• Class 3 Electrical Gloves
• Class 4 Electrical Gloves
• Engineering Gloves
• Electronics Handling Gloves

If you've got a question or something to add, you can get in touch using the comments section below or via our Twitter or Facebook pages!