LTB 764/10 - TUC Report - "Give us a (Loo) Break"

[TrueBlueTerrier]

LTB 764/10 - TUC Report - "Give us a (Loo) Break"
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No. 764/10


Ref EX10
Date: 7 September 2010
To: All Branches


Dear Colleagues

TUC Report - "Give us a (Loo) Break"

A TUC report - "Give us a (Loo) Break" - was published to coincide with international women's day and says that toilet breaks are not a luxury, but a basic human need, and employers who don't provide staff with toilet facilities are breaking the law.

It finds examples of staff having to put their hands up to use the toilet, record the number of times they nip to the loo each day or travel a mile to pee.

Employers should not be able to penalise staff for using the toilet in work time, and should provide their employees with clean, modern lavatories, says the TUC report as it calls for a change in the law to bring workplace loos into the 21st century.

Back in 2003 when the TUC first launched its Gotta Go campaign, research revealed that across the UK many workers had no access to toilets or had to use dirty, poorly maintained ones. Others were docked pay for needing to use the loo, and had to ask if they could be excused to spend a penny. Six years on it seems the situation has barely changed.


The TUC report is critical of employers who still believe that employees should go to the loo in their own time. Others plan work schedules that take no account of toilet breaks or allow a work culture to develop where use of the toilet whenever a worker requires it is frowned upon.

"Give us a (Loo) Break" says that some workers have no easy access to the toilet - it notes a female firefighter who had to change her tampons in the back of a fire engine while her male colleagues stood guard outside. As a result of union pressure, a number of brigades have now introduced mobile welfare vehicles which have separate women and men's toilets.

Other staff are based in workplaces where the toilets are closed at night, or have given up their own time and come in at the weekend to replenish the soap and paper towels in their poorly stocked loos.

Not being able to use the toilet when nature calls can cause real health problems warns the report. Conditions including digestive and urinary tract problems can develop into more serious health issues, and individuals on certain medications may need to go more often than usual.

Working in the cold can be another cause of more frequent loo use, and women who are menstruating, pregnant or menopausal need to take a trip to the toilet more often than they would normally.

Similarly, call centre workers are encouraged to drink lots of water to limit the strain on their voices, but discouraged from taking too many toilet breaks, says the report.

The TUC state that Employers shouldn't be mean and penny pinching over their employees' need to use the loo. They should trust staff and let them take a few minutes away from their work if they need to go. Dickensian attitudes to toilet breaks have no place in the modern workplace. Employees should be free to go to the toilet in work time, and not have to raise their hands or ask permission as if they were back in school, or have their employers keep notes on how long or how often they go for. When staff do get to the loo, they have the right to expect clean, well maintained and ventilated facilities.'

The report concludes that better toilet facilities for UK employees will only come about if:
· the Health and Safety Executive and local authority inspectors ensure that employers are complying with their obligations under UK safety laws and are providing suitable, sufficient and accessible toilets and washing facilities that are clean, well ventilated, lit and stocked with soap and towels;
· the law is changed so that employees can go to the toilet whenever they need to - so long as they are not endangering the safety of their colleagues, and in work rather than their own time.

A copy of the Report is below for your information.

Yours Sincerely
Dave Joyce
National Health, Safety & Environment Officer





Give us a (Loo) break!
Better welfare facilities - guidance for union representatives


Health and Safety March 2010

The need for better welfare facilities
For too long many workers have had to put up with either no toilet facilities, or very poor ones. At the same time we hear a growing number of horror stories of workers having to ask permission to go to the toilet or being docked pay for going. Toilet breaks are not a luxury, but a basic need, and the provision of toilets is a legal requirement. That is why the TUC is calling for:
· The enforcement of the welfare laws covering the provision of toilet and washing facilities for men and women workers.
· A change in the law to give workers a specific right to go the toilet whenever they need and without detriment.


The problem
Many employers believe that loo breaks should happen in a workers' own time. They plan work which takes no account of toilet breaks or develop a work culture where use of the toilet whenever it is required is frowned on. Access to toilet facilities is a growing health problem for workers in a wide range of workplaces and occupations.

For some workers having a toilet break during a work shift hits them in the pocket as it means employers dock their wages for time spent in the toilet. Other workers have to ask to use the toilet or indicate a need to go by raising their hand and wait for permission from a supervisor, who may not be around at the time.

There has also been a reduction in toilet facilities in some sectors. For instance in further and higher education, many employers have removed separate toilet provision for staff and students meaning that teaching and support staff are increasingly being asked to share facilities with students as young as 14 years old.

However for other workers there are no toilet facilities provided or they are closed at certain times, such as at night. Often those facilities that are provided are totally inadequate, with inadequate cleaning, no paper or soap provided or broken locks so there is no privacy.

This is humiliating, takes away a worker's dignity at work and is against the spirit of the health and safety legislation relating to access to toilet and washing facilities.

It's a health issue

Not being able to go when you need to can cause a range of health problems, including digestive and urinary tract problems and kidney infections which can develop into more serious health conditions. Also people on certain medications may need to visit the toilet on a more frequent basis and working in the cold (for example on construction sites or in food cold stores) may also increase the need to use the toilet. Women may need to urinate more frequently when menstruating, when pregnant and during the menopause, while prostate problems in men may mean they may need to urinate more frequently. Groups like call centre workers being often encouraged to regularly drink water to help reduce voice strain, yet they are often discouraged from using toilets frequently.

Lack of toilet facilities can also have safety implications. For example, driving with a full bladder and working to tight delivery schedules could mean loss of concentration and added stress, which in turn may put the worker, and others, at risk on the road. It is also a public health issue. Personal hygiene plays a major role in preventing the spread of disease and the health of workers, and their families, is being put at risk as a result of employers' unwillingness to comply with basic health and safety law.

What the law says

Under the Health and Safety at Work etc Act l974 employers must ensure the health, safety and welfare at work of all their employees, and maintain the workplace so that it is safe and without risks to health. They must also provide adequate facilities and arrangements for welfare at work.

In addition the Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992 require employers to

· Provide suitable and sufficient sanitary conveniences and washing facilities at readily accessible places. The Approved Code of Practice states that minimum numbers should be provided depending on the size of the workforce
· Keep them clean, adequately ventilated and lit
· Provide hot and cold or warm water in washing facilities, soap and clean towels or other methods of cleaning or drying
· Provide showers if required
· Provide separate facilities for men and women unless each facility is in a separate room with a lockable door and is for use by only one person at a time

The Education (Schools Premises) Regulations 1999, which apply to primary and secondary schools, require separate washrooms (including sanitary facilities) to be provided for the use of staff and students.

Disability and sex discrimination legislation may apply, depending on the circumstances.

The need for more action and better protection.
The TUC is running a campaign which is calling for action from the Health and Safety Executive and other enforcers to ensure that employers comply with health and safety laws relating to welfare at work, particularly toilet provision and access. In recent years the HSE have taken enforcement action against a number of construction employers for failing to provide basic welfare provision, and this had led to a considerable improvement in the number of sites with toilet facilities.

We want to see basic workplace hygiene standards, including access to clean washing facilities, in every workplace to prevent the risk of other health related problems such as the spreading of germs and bacteria, which in turn could increase sickness absence among the workforce. We also want those without a fixed indoor workplace to have access to welfare facilities.

There is also a need for a specific legal right to use toilets in the employer's time without a deduction in pay, and without any harassment.
The TUC wants to see recognition that a worker's right to use the toilet is a human right!


Welfare provision and toilet breaks - what a union representative can do

Union representatives can use the existing law to ensure that everyone has a right to proper access to toilet and welfare facilities. They can:
· Ensure that toilet and washing facilities are included in any inspections.
· Survey members to find out if they are satisfied with the washing and toilet provisions.
· Encourage members to report all problems about workplace welfare facilities including hygiene, access and breaks.
· If members report that they have to ask for permission to go to the toilet then seek to negotiate a toilet breaks policy to ensure that workers' health is not put at risk.
· Ensure that your agreements provide for paid rest breaks, paid toilet breaks, provision of welfare facilities and easy access to them.
· If the employer refuses to provide the minimum requirements speak to your union about making a complaint to the enforcing authority.


It is an issue for everyone.
Everyone has an equal right to protection from harm at work. The TUC Gender and Occupational Safety and Health Working Group (G&OSH) has produced a Gender and Occupational Safety and Health "gender sensitivity" checklist to help union safety reps and others to check whether their workplace health and safety policies and practices are gender sensitive. This includes welfare provision. The Checklist can be found, with advice on how to use it, on the G&OSH pages on the TUC website. http://www.tuc.org.uk" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;


Health and safety information about welfare facilities requirements is at http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/indg293.pdf" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[guvenor]

so what do we do when out on longer deliveries is it back to office or do we just p in the street or worse
i aint chapping nobodys door to stink out their bathroom.
hardly any public toilets any more cant go into schools no disclosures you wouldnt like to think who might gain access it aint all angels we employ,shops will get fed up using their loos without actually buying something
so whats the answer

[DGP1]

so what do we do when out on longer deliveries is it back to office or do we just p in the street or worse
i aint chapping nobodys door to stink out their bathroom.
hardly any public toilets any more cant go into schools no disclosures you wouldnt like to think who might gain access it aint all angels we employ,shops will get fed up using their loos without actually buying something
so whats the answer

Pubs or McDs

[teesdale]

Only a couple of years ago we had managers who said that you had to tell them if you were leaving the floor to go to the toilet. This rule did not apply to everyone and therefore I conclude it was a bullying tool probably more commonly used in mail centres. Nowadays I haven't heard this happening but still see going to the toilet sometimes frowned upon with pressure applied. Thanks for this article as soon as any manager mentions anything on this subject ill be f..king on em with a lecture, followed up with letting the union rep know about the TUC campaign.

[POSTMAN]

What the law says...

You know what,if we were all to push this to the hilt,the firm would fall apart!

[old-postie]

still a 10 minute grace relief from the way forward agreement, hope that nobody's forgot that - especially when planning the new duties and the fact that it's not to be scheduled.

old-postie.

[POSTMAN]

still a 10 minute grace relief from the way forward agreement, hope that nobody's forgot that - especially when planning the new duties and the fact that it's not to be scheduled.

old-postie.

I think we have,never knew it was in anything except duties have to be planned with toilet facilities in mind.

[willywiz01]

hi iust wanted to know if anyone can help
we are driving on the road and expriencing various hazardous enviroments our network work is mainly out side the 9.00 am to 6.00 pm times before and after.
I asked my manager if we could have a pkt of hygine hand wipes because there was no other way of cleaning our hands before our lunch break we can not access at a drop of a hat to use delivery/offices being the nature of our work why cant the union do more for the network drivers and insist on royal mail supplying a way of portable hygene after all we are all human and from the employers point of view its got to be cheaper then paying for someone of sick through dirty hygine these hand wipes cost about 80p to 130p much cheaper then spreading and catching

[andy2007]

I didn't know that things were that bad for you. What has your H&S Rep said about this issue?