Law regarding rest breaks is disgusting

scheming_gypsy

LadyMissA wrote: »

Tea is what you have on Sundays and dinner is the evening meal

you're southern!

I bet you went to school and had dinner ladies at lunchtime

scheming_gypsy

although to be honest; if people aren't allowed to have a drink, why are they wanting to go for a pee?

LadyMissA

scheming_gypsy wrote: »

although to be honest; if people aren't allowed to have a drink, why are they wanting to go for a pee?

So you have never gone to the loo when you get out of bed? It is in you bladder and you don't have to drink to want to go. I would get out of bed and not have a drink till lunch time and still go a few times.

scheming_gypsy

unfortunately not.. I have to get out of bed because I've been to the loo

LadyMissA

scheming_gypsy wrote: »

you're southern!

I bet you went to school and had dinner ladies at lunchtime

Dinner ladies - Yes as in the old days when people only had 2 meals a day dinner was the largest meal and normally the 1st meal of said day.

I am from the south yeah but it's still dinner

LadyMissA

scheming_gypsy wrote: »

unfortunately not.. I have to get out of bed because I've been to the loo

do you drink in bed?

scheming_gypsy

LadyMissA wrote: »

Dinner ladies - Yes as in the old days when people only had 2 meals a day dinner was the largest meal and normally the 1st meal of said day.

I am from the south yeah but it's still dinner

how old are you? we had 3 meals a day when i had dinner ladies at school and Victoria Wood's sitcom wasn't that old.

LadyMissA wrote: »

do you drink in bed?

yes, yes i do (you didn't want that answer did you )

juno

scheming_gypsy wrote: »

lol, meal times are at whatever time you have a meal.

Breakfast - first meal of the day
Brunch - between breakfast and lunch
Lunch (or dinner) - mid day
Tea (or dinner if you're a bit strange) - evening meal
supper - a snack before bed.

there are no set times. If you have lunch at 2pm you're having lunch, you haven't skipped lunch and having a mid afternoon snack

I confuse people at work by talking about my "lunch" when my shift starts at 2 PM!

LadyMissA

scheming_gypsy wrote: »

how old are you? we had 3 meals a day when i had dinner ladies at school and Victoria Wood's sitcom wasn't that old.




yes, yes i do (you didn't want that answer did you )

It was a reply as you said 'Tea (or dinner if you're a bit strange) - evening meal'

And when I said dinner was the evening meal you said it was cause I was from the south so I was saying where the term dinner comes from.

The word dinner means the first meal of the day and up north a lot of people call lunch dinner and it goes back to when people had 2 meals a day (the word dinner) and it means the largest meal of the day

You said that you bet I had dinner ladies at school so not sure what you were getting at there

lynzpower

I think it is disgusting that you are expected to work those hours with not only nothing to eat but no drink either. It is very unhealthy to go that amount of hours with nothing to drink.

Heres a good explaination of the legal requirements:
http://www.hazards.org/toiletbreaks/toiletbreaks2

UK health and safety law does not contain a specific right to go, but this is implied in employers' general duties to protect the health, safety and welfare of employees in the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974, section 2.

The Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992 require suitable and sufficient, clean and adequately ventilated and lit sanitary conveniences at readily accessible places. Pregnant women have additional rights.

The Approved Code of Practice (ACoP) to these regulations says: "Sufficient facilities should be provided to enable everyone at work to use them without undue delay. If, for example breaks are taken at set times or workers finish work together and need to wash before leaving."

The ACoP adds: "Facilities need to be provided for pregnant women and nursing mothers if it is 'reasonably practicable' for an employer to do so. You may need to provide a room for pregnant women/nursing mother to rest or lie down." Disability discrimination laws require adequate welfare provision for workers with disabilities.

Nigel Hammond, the Health and Safety Executive's head of Workplace and standards branch, told Hazards: "The Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992 require the provision of suitable and sufficient sanitary conveniences and washing facilities at readily accessible places for use by employees.

"It is an implicit duty that employers provide reasonable access to these facilities. The Regulations also require provision of suitable facilities where pregnant women or nursing mothers are able to rest."

There are also specific guidelines for certain jobs. The Construction Health Safety and Welfare Regulations require all the usual welfare and toilet facilities on construction sites. Regulation 22 requires employers to provide sanitary and washing facilities, rest facilities and facilities to change and store clothing. The Construction (Design and Management) Regulations place a legal requirement on "duty holders" to ensure proper planning and availability of resources, including welfare facilities, power and water.

HSE has issued guidance on toilet and welfare provision at temporary, short-duration construction and railway maintenance sites.

A call centres circular from HSE's local authority unit says "call handlers must also be allowed to go to the toilet and fetch water/drinks when they need to."And other safety laws, including the display screen equipment and working time regulations, give specific rights to rest breaks.

Should I stay or should I go?

In the UK, HSE enforces the parts of the law that deal with provision of suitable welfare facilities. But the Department of Trade and Industry is responsible for enforcing how many breaks you get and when.

Hazards asked DTI if workers a right to toilet breaks in paid work time. A spokesperson said: "Not specifically but they are entitled to a 20-minute rest break in any working day that exceeds six hours under the Working Time Regulations."

Asked if an employer can penalise or discipline a worker for taking toilet breaks, DTI responded: "Only with good reason," adding that workers should have a right to appeal under disciplinary rules.

Hazards asked if an employer stop wages for time spent on a toilet break, to which the answer was: "Technically, yes." He added that the action could be challenged at an employment tribunal.

The DTI spokesperson added that an employer could "not normally" require that an employee only take a toilet break after receiving permission, but added "there are circumstances, perhaps on a production line or furnace environment, where taking a toilet break without permission may put the safety of co-workers as risk."