toilets at work.

[newmoses]

Hopefully,someone can give me the correct meaning of some legislation,

but to start with, here is what I think may be a problem at work.

 

 

I work for a bus company where there are around 85 males and 15 females in our depot.

 

 

There is 1 tiolet for all the females and 2 toilets and 1 X4ft urinal for all the males.

 

 

The manager has been approached with regards to inadequate numbers of toilets but gave the answer,

"We don't need to provide any more toilets because this building is old".

 

 

The building is around 38 years old.

 

 

However,looking at legislation,I think the manager is wrong,

 

 

and here is the legislation:-

Workplace (Health, Safety & Welfare) Regulations 1992

 

These regulations first came into force on 1 January, 1993.

They were part of a set of new laws introduced at the same time, known as the 'six pack'.

Initially, existing premises enjoyed a period of exemption but this expired on 1 January, 1996

and now all workplaces are covered by these provisions.

 

Sanitary conveniences and washing facilities

 

Regulations 20 and 21 set down the requirements for adequate sanitary facilities.

 

Sanitary conveniences for men and women should normally be provided in separate rooms.

The only exception is if a facility is for a single person at any one time and the door can be secured from the inside.

 

The rooms should be well ventilated and lit and kept clean and tidy.

Washing facilities must be provided 'in the immediate vicinity' of every sanitary convenience

and must have a supply of clean hot and cold water.

 

The tables below show the minimum numbers of water closets, urinals and washstations that must be provided.

 

Table 1 is the general provision,

whilst Table 2 shows an alternative calculation for men's facilities.

 

 

A separate calculation for each group of workers covered is required.

 

Table 1, showing the general provision of water closets and wash basins in a workplace

Number of people at work

Number of water closets

Number of wash stations

1 to 5 1 1 6 to 25 2 2 26 to 50 3 3 51 to 75 4 4 76 to 100 5 5

Table 2, table showing the number of urinals and water closets in a workplace

Number of men at work

Number of water closets

Number of urinals

1 to 15 1 1 16 to 30 2 1 31 to 45 2 2 46 to 60 3 2 61 to 75 3 3 76 to 90 4 3

91 to 100 4 4

[newmoses]

However, there are some businesses that are exempt:-

Regulation 3 lists those workplaces to which the regulations do not apply:

 

• a workplace on or in a ship
  
• a construction site
  
• mines or quarries etc
  
• temporary work sites
  
• operational means of transport
  
• agricultural or forestry workplaces outdoors and away from main buildings (except that regulations 20 - 22 apply to some extent).
  
• As it is a bus company I work for, are they exempt under the "Operational means of transport" regulation?.The toilets are in the building and not on the bus station where drivers operate from.Hopefully someone with the knowledge in this area will be able to answer the question before the Health and Safety Rep. at work gets involved.
  

[firstclassx]

However, there are some businesses that are exempt:-

Regulation 3 lists those workplaces to which the regulations do not apply:

 

• a workplace on or in a ship
  
• a construction site
  
• mines or quarries etc
  
• temporary work sites
  
• operational means of transport
  
• agricultural or forestry workplaces outdoors and away from main buildings (except that regulations 20 - 22 apply to some extent).
  
• As it is a bus company I work for, are they exempt under the "Operational means of transport" regulation?.The toilets are in the building and not on the bus station where drivers operate from.Hopefully someone with the knowledge in this area will be able to answer the question before the Health and Safety Rep. at work gets involved.
  

 

A bus, train, aeroplane, hovercraft, ship etc is an operational means of transport, not a solid brick building like a bus station.

 

I personally think that 1 toilet for 15 women is acceptable, because all 15 aren't going to be in at the same time, taking their breaks etc at the same time. Let's say 10 out of the 15 women are on duty, how many of these are all going to be in the bus station at the same time? Most will be on the road for the majority of the day.

[Conniff]

I don't see that most being on the road / day off or sick has any bearing on it, if the law stipulates a number of toilets per amount of women and they aren't being supplied, then the bus company are in the wrong.

 

 

Contact ACAS - http://www.acas.org.uk/contact - they will give you advice and tell you what to do if you are correct.

 

 

Just one thing though, will you come back and let us know either way so we know as well please?

[newmoses]

Sure conniff,I will let you all know when I have some solid confirmation.I still don't think I have the correct answer, or rather the interpretation that I was hoping for.So.if because my employer operates buses out of the bus station, that exempts them from having to provide the required amount of toilets in the brick building we have for offices, cctv room,canteen, rest room etc?.The actual building is owned by the local council and leased to my employer.

[Conniff]

ACAS knows everything newmoses, so contact them on the next normal working day. Nothing to stop you emailing them now, but you probably won't get a reply until next week.

[heliosuk]

Regulations are based on number of people employed, not who might be present at any one time. So what happens at shift changes presuming there are shifts.

Routine action to take would be first to lodge a grievance.

[Sidewinder]

Are the mens toilets in the same room as the urinal or in a separate room?

 

If in a separate room is it capable of being locked from the inside>

[newmoses]

The 2 gents toilets are cubicles in the same room as the urinal.They can be locked from the inside.

[Sidewinder]

Ah OK. Doesn't count then. There would be a get out for the employer if the toilets were actually separate from the urinals and were able to be locked to afford privacy from the opposite sex - shared toilets are OK so long as each sex can use them with dignity.

[Atlas01]

older buildings only have to conform to what was in the factories act..............

 

===========================

PART II - http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1992/3004/schedule/1/made

 

NUMBER OF SANITARY CONVENIENCES

 

4. In workplaces where females work, there shall be at least one suitable water closet for use by females only for every 25 females.

 

5. In workplaces where males work, there shall be at least one suitable water closet for use by males only for every 25 males.

 

6. In calculating the number of males or females who work in any workplace for the purposes of this Part of this Schedule, any number not itself divisible by 25 without fraction or remainder shall be treated as the next number higher than it which is so divisible.

 

===================

 

1. Will there ever actually be 50+ men in during normal operation (women wont apply if

 

 

2. Enforcement is not via acas or a tribunal after an internal grievance is raised (they will ask if it has been pursued locally) it is through the local authority EHO's and the HSE, the HSE do factories and LA do offices. Can't say off the top of my head which a bus depot would sit under and would expect both the hse and LA to play football with it if they were interested

 

http://www.hse.gov.uk/contact/authority.htm

 

The correct way to deal with this

 

 

• Your local H&S rep raises it in writing to them stating they believe there is a breach in the regs (setting out the regs) and asks for a written response.
  
• Consider the response, if they state it's because it's old so they use the above numbers and state not that many people will be there at any one time then it will need to be evidenced that this is wrong, more discussions with the employer take place.
  
• Employer sticks to their guns/intransigence
  
• H&S rep Contacts relevant enforcing authority and advises of the attempt to resolve locally and asks for enforcing body to make a conclusion.
  
• You get more toilets/You don't
  
• (bonus Bullet point as it's christmas- this will probably take between a week and a year )
  

 

Time for me to stop talking crap and go to bed.