Rest and eating facilities


Regulation 25 states that readily accessible, suitable and sufficient rest facilities must be provided. Where food eaten in the workplace is liable to become contaminated, suitable facilities for eating meals must be included in the rest facilities. Canteens may be used as rest facilities if there is no obligation to buy food. These areas must include suitable rest facilities for pregnant women and nursing mothers.


The ACOP recommends that rest facilities should include sufficient seats and tables. Work seats in offices or other clean environments may be acceptable, provided workers are not subjected to excessive disturbance during rest periods. Eating facilities should include the means of preparing or obtaining a hot drink and, where hot food cannot be readily obtained, the means for workers to heat their own food. The regulations add that “an adequate number of tables and adequate seating with backs” should be provided, and that this seating must be adequate for any disabled persons at work.