Orange or yellow hi-vis: which to wear
Both colours are high-visibility, both can meet the same standard, and the choice between them is not usually about which is "brighter". It is about the environment you are being seen against and, in some sectors, a rule that removes the choice entirely. Here is how to get it right.
The class matters more than the colour
High-visibility clothing in the UK is certified to EN ISO 20471, which sets three classes according to how much fluorescent background material and retroreflective tape a garment carries — not according to its colour.
- Class 3 — the most material and the highest visibility, typically a long-sleeved jacket or coverall. Specified for high-speed traffic, rail and poor-light environments.
- Class 2 — a mid level, typically a waistcoat or tabard. A common minimum on general sites.
- Class 1 — the least material, for lower-risk settings such as yards away from traffic.
A yellow and an orange garment of the same cut carry the same class. So the first decision is the class the risk assessment calls for; the colour is a separate decision on top of it.
Yellow — the general-purpose default
Fluorescent yellow is the most widely worn hi-vis colour across construction, highways, warehousing and general site work. It stands out strongly in daylight against most built and natural backgrounds, which is why it is the usual issue where no specific rule says otherwise. If you are buying for a mixed site team and nothing in the contract specifies a colour, yellow is almost always the right call.
Orange — and where it is not optional
Fluorescent orange-red is the other common background colour. The most important case is rail: on Network Rail infrastructure, staff working on or near the line are required to wear orange high-visibility upper-body clothing under the Railway Group Standard RIS-3279-TOM. That is a specific requirement, not a preference — general-site yellow is not compliant for that work. If you are supplying a rail workforce, the specification will call orange, and often Class 3, with the exact make-up set by the client. See the rail sector page for how TES handles that.
Away from rail, orange is sometimes chosen for contrast: on a site dominated by yellow plant or green surroundings, an orange garment can separate people from the background more clearly. That is a judgement for the site's own risk assessment.
Getting it right first time
- Check the contract or client PPE specification before you order — if it names a colour or a class, that decides it.
- For rail work on or near the line, order orange upper-body hi-vis to RIS-3279-TOM.
- For general construction and highways, yellow at the class your risk assessment sets is the usual choice.
- Think about the whole garment set for the season — a Class 2 waistcoat over a base layer is not the same as a Class 3 jacket in winter.
TES runs an in-house branding room, so hi-vis and workwear can be printed with your logo to order rather than bought as branded stock a year ahead.
Browse hi-vis, or send us the spec
Browse hi-vis clothing or the wider PPE & workwear range in the catalogue. If a client specification sets the colour, class and branding, send it over and we will quote against it.