No water in office building

currantbun

Hi
My husbands office currently has no running water due to a water main burst, they therefore have no toilet facilities. The HR department has said it is their choice whether to stay in the office or not and they have been told to use toilet facilities at a large supermarket which is a 15 minute walk away. Is it legal to have people working with no toilet facilities or running water? Does he have case for being able to work at home?

juliescot

http://www.leeds.gov.uk/files/2005/week41/inter__CFBAA505CC495EA080256E19004CC18B_648fbcb5-cbe2-4ac1-81b6-a8854928b324.pdf

http://www.hazards.org/toiletbreaks/toiletbreaks2

These might help him

paulwf

Sounds like a daft decision not to let them work from home unless cover is absolutely essential. If it is nice weather just take a loo break every 90 minutes, a 30 minute stroll several times a day sounds rather pleasant

Ivrytwr3

Can the company not hire porta loos?!

Or failing that, they could provide empty bottles to go into, or if they are a tight company, 1 empty bottle to be shared.

jazzyman01

Under health and safety at work act they must provide toilet facilities.

pinkshoes

So long as the company are not docking pay for the 30 minutes it will take to go to the toilet, then I'd take them up on their offer of using the supermarket toilets!! A long walk every couple of hours sounds great!

I'm presuming this burst water main will be fixed in the next 24 hours, and this is merely a 1 off thing?? In which case I wouldn't object to it...

Does your husband have medical reasons why he can't walk that distance? In which case, he should work from home.

Have they said he CAN'T work from home? Your post seems to imply that working from home is an option.

ohreally

Conveniences are dealt with under sec 20 of the workplace health safety and welfare regs - conveniences should be suitable, sufficient and readily accessible...http://www.opsi.gov.uk/SI/si1992/Uksi_19923004_en_2.htm#mdiv20

Drinking water, sec 22...http://www.opsi.gov.uk/SI/si1992/Uksi_19923004_en_2.htm#mdiv22

These are duties imposed in law, not advice.