Employer responsibilities
Employers have a duty to protect employee health and safety, including eye health. Where workplace risk assessments identify eye hazards, suitable eye protection should be provided. Employees working with display screen equipment may also be entitled to eye examinations and, where required solely for screen work, employer-provided VDU spectacles.
A managed prescription safety eyewear programme helps organisations support compliance while improving employee comfort and productivity.
Nationwide Opticians Network
Providing prescription safety eyewear across multiple locations can be challenging. That's why uvex works with an extensive network of dispensing opticians throughout the UK.
Employees can attend a convenient local appointment for:
- Eye examinations
- Prescription verification
- Frame fitting
- Lens selection
- Collection and final dispensing
Whether your workforce is located at one site or spread across multiple locations, our network helps ensure employees can access professional support wherever they work.
If your chosen optician does not stock the required frame, uvex can arrange for sample frames to be supplied for accurate fitting and frame selection.
Benefits of our optician network
- Nationwide coverage across the UK
- Convenient local appointments for employees
- Professional fitting and dispensing
- Support for single-site and multi-site organisations
- Reduced administration for employers
- Seamless integration with the uvex prescription ordering system
A simpler way to manage prescription safety eyewear
Our online prescription ordering system has been designed to simplify administration for employers and authorising officers.
The system allows organisations to:
- Set approved frame and lens options
- Manage employee orders
- Track order progress
- Generate reports
- Maintain order history and traceability
- Support H&S and ISO documentation requirements
- Manage multiple sites and authorising officers through secure accounts
Unlike many voucher schemes, uvex invoices through your existing PPE supplier, reducing administration and eliminating the need to manage prepaid vouchers.
Find out more
To find out more about our optician's online portal, contact our prescription department who will be happy to assist you.
Contact our prescription specialists today
+44 (0)1252 731200 option #1
Lines are open Mon-Fri 8am-4pm
How the prescription safety eyewear process works
Step 1: Authorisation
An authorised manager or safety professional creates an order through the uvex prescription portal.
Step 2: Optician appointment
The employee visits an approved dispensing optician for an eye examination or provides a valid prescription.
Step 3: Frame selection
The employee chooses from approved frame options that meet company requirements and workplace hazards.
Step 4: Order submission
The prescription and fitting information are submitted through the online portal.
Step 5: Manufacture
uvex manufactures the spectacles to the employee's prescription and agreed safety specification.
Step 6: Dispensing
The spectacles are delivered to the optician, fitted to the employee and checked for comfort and performance.
Downloads
Download the brochure
Explore our prescription safety eyewear brochure for product benefits and solutions.
Download uvex Optician's guide
Access our Optician’s guide with dispensing, frame options, and technical details.
Choosing the right prescription lenses
Different tasks require different lens solutions. uvex offers:
Single vision lenses
Ideal for wearers requiring one consistent prescription for distance or near vision.
Bifocal lenses
Combine distance and near vision correction in one lens without the need to switch glasses.
Varifocal lenses
Provide seamless vision correction across near, intermediate and distance viewing zones.
VDU lenses
Designed for screen work, helping reduce eye strain during long periods at a computer.
Why lens material matters
Not all prescription lenses offer the same level of protection.
Polycarbonate lenses
Polycarbonate is typically the preferred material for industrial prescription safety eyewear because it offers:
- Excellent impact resistance
- Lightweight comfort
- Enhanced durability
- Compliance with current and future safety standards
CR39 lenses
CR39 offers excellent optical clarity and is widely used in everyday spectacles and VDU applications. However, for environments requiring impact protection, polycarbonate is often the preferred option.
We recommend anti-reflective lenses for work at a VDU. An anti-reflective metal oxide coating is applied, which ensures a significant reduction in reflections on the inner and outer sides of the lens. It also offers a cosmetic advantage and increases light transparency of the lens and vision clarity is improved.
Multi anti-reflective coating:
- Maximum reduction of reflections
- Metal oxide is applied several times to each surface
- Residual reflection < 2%
Choosing the right frame
uvex is able to provide a choice of metal, plastic and wraparound frame styles in single vision, bifocal or varifocal for safety or office use.
Fog-free, clear vision with the Optifog system
Are you experiencing fogged up lenses? The Optifog system stops this from happening, allowing you to work safely and effectively, with no distractions. Optifog's unique anti-fog system combines two patented technologies: Optifog lens treatment and a smart textile cloth with anti-fog molecules that activates the power of the Optifog lens. Simply wipe your lenses with the smart cloth and droplets that would usually obstruct your vision spread uniformly across the lens, in an invisible and fog-free layer.
✔ Fog repellent
Stays fog free even in extreme conditions*
✔ Scratch-resistant
Durable lenses, ensuring clear vision
✔ UV protection
Protects your eyes from UVA and UVB rays
✔ Glare reduction
Less reflections for clarity of vision and improved aesthetics
✔ Dust repellent
Repels dust particles for easy to clean lenses
Every day
Clean your Optifog lenses using the Optifog Smart Textile that comes with your new lenses.
Every 2 weeks
Wash your Optifog lenses with water, especially if they've been exposed to pathogens to avoid contamination.
Every few months
(or after 450 activations): Renew your Optifog Smart Textile to ensure continuous anti-fog performance.
FAQ's
Standard prescription glasses do not usually provide the impact protection required in hazardous workplaces. Prescription safety eyewear is specifically designed to deliver both vision correction and workplace protection.
Employees can order through the uvex prescription ordering system, which allows approved frame and lens selections, order tracking and streamlined administration.
Yes. uvex works with a nationwide network of dispensing opticians, making it easy for employees across the UK to access eye examinations, fittings and prescription verification.
uvex offers single vision, bifocal and varifocal options, together with a range of lens materials, coatings and tints.
86% of prescription eyewear orders are delivered within five working days.
Yes. The uvex prescription ordering system is designed for organisations of all sizes and supports multiple authorising officers and locations.
Contact our team
Questions about the material used for prescription safety lenses? Our team will be happy to help.
Avoid the pitfalls of vouchers
uvex provides an effortless solution for companies to avoid the many drawbacks of the optician’s voucher system for procuring prescription safety eyewear.
Polycarbonate vs. CR39 lenses
Ensure your prescription safety glasses will perform should the unthinkable happen by checking the lens on your glasses to see what markings it has.