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Sanitary, washing and drinking facilities
[ch 5: pages 80-82]Regulation 20 states that suitable and sufficient toilets must be provided, adequately ventilated and lit, kept clean and maintained in an orderly condition. The ACOP recommends that toilets should contain toilet paper in a holder or dispenser; have a facility for hanging coats; and, where used by women, contain the means for disposal of sanitary towels.
Regulation 21 states that suitable and sufficient washing facilities must be provided, including showers where necessary due to the nature of the work or for health reasons. Washing facilities will be considered suitable if they are in the immediate vicinity of toilets or changing rooms, provided with a clean supply of hot and cold (or warm) water, soap, and towels, and are sufficiently ventilated, lit and kept clean and orderly.
Separate toilet and washing facilities must be provided for men and women, except where the facilities are provided in a room intended for the use of one person at a time and which can be secured from the inside. This last provision does not apply to washing facilities intended for the hands, forearms and face only.
Minimum requirements for toilets and wash stations
The revised ACOP and guidance lists the minimum facilities that should be provided:
| Number of men/women | 1-5 | 6-25 | 26-50 | 51-75 | 76-100 |
| Number of toilets and wash stations | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
An additional toilet and wash station should then be provided for every 25 (or fraction of 25) people over 100. Alternative arrangements for facilities only used by men are also set out.
The regulations also specify that an adequate supply of drinking water and cups must be provided (Regulation 22).
Unite Toilet breaks campaign
The general Unite union is campaigning for improved welfare provision in all workplaces and highlighting the devastating effect the closure of public toilets has had on workers’ health, especially mobile workers and disabled people. Many workers have difficulty in getting access to toilets and washing facilities at all, with mobile workers particularly affected. Toilet closures are one factor, and access to facilities is often an issue when making deliveries, especially if they have to queue for a long period. Many employers refuse to give access to non-employees, and even when they do so facilities are often dirty and of very poor quality.
Some of the problems it highlights include the following:
• Civil aviation workers have reported aircraft departing on long haul flights without any functioning toilet or water facilities on board. Unite is campaigning to make it a legal requirement to have running water and toilets on all passenger aircraft;
• Office workers being asked to put their hands up when they want to go to the toilet;
• Factory workers being denied pay for toilet breaks;
• The needs of women in male-dominated workplaces being ignored (even in new build workplaces) with bins for sanitary product disposal not being provided for example;
• Welfare facilities alongside railway tracks are either non-existent or demolished without consultation, leaving track workers at remote worksites without access to washing, rest and toilet facilities;
• Toilets not being provided at all: the HSE still regularly has to take enforcement action regarding lack of welfare facilities for workers on construction sites;
• Disabled workers – and lorry drivers – being blamed for the state of the toilet; and
• Workplace toilet access becoming contentious in workplaces when Trans people are making the transition, if the situation is not managed sensitively.
Dignity, Respect, Equality and Welfare at work: it’s time for a toilet break! Guidance for Unite members provides more information about the campaign, and highlights examples of where union action has resulted in improvements. It can be downloaded from Unite’s website www.unitetheunion.org/uploaded/documents/(JN7023)%20A4%20Time%20For%20a%20Loo%20Break%20Unite%20guidance11-23699.pdf.