Timing bathroom breaks !!!

LadyMissA

Kirri wrote: »

It doesn't have to come out of a break time though, they can't stop you going whenever you need to? and they can't deduct it out of your official break??

I have no idea how they would stop you but they coudl make an issue out of anything. I am not saying it's right at all. They coudl make you see a doctor saying you have a weak bladder or something wrong with you. Companies have a good way of comparing one person to the next but when I have a period my bladder seems as big as a teaspoon and I need the loo near on every hour. They'd love me

LadyMissA

something here

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

Under the heading 'Making a stink'

Mean bosses at Brown Brothers' factory in Kirkconnell, Scotland docked their workers' wages for the time they spend in the loo. The workers' union TGWU objected after the 200 staff were issued with smart cards that deduct their pay for the time they're away from the factory floor.
One worker said in one week employers had pinched £5.28, an hours wages, from his wage packet just for going to the loo. He said: "The motto among the staff here is: 'Have a break - have a quick c**p'."

kitschkitty

yvonne13 wrote: »

From what she said it looks like it was a mass email, I did suggest she goes to HR, I hope they can help.

I think that's very inappropriate in that case and would definitely take it up with HR, as it's inappropriate, and could be classed as bullying by humilitaion.

And if you think about it and take it further you have to question what if someone has a toilet related medical condition - will their details still be included or omitted? Picking them out as different from everyone else and possibly breaching disability discrimination and personal confidentiality issues. (and yeas I am taking this to extremes but I hope I'm making my point - it's late & I'm very tired, sorry).

I'm no legal eagle, but I'm sure it could be seen as sexist too, as to be blunt women take longer in the loo at the best of times - it a physiology thing, never mind any monthly biological reasons!

wabuthu

i work at a call centre and they monitor our loo time...if total daily amount of time in the loo (no matter how many times you go) exceeds 10mins in an 8hour shift then you are given a "talk" and informed that your loo time is too high and have to reduce it....which quite frankly is ridiculous, especially considering walking to the loo is 2mins in walking time alone through the corridors, not even including "doing the business" *sigh*....we all kept joking next time we get the warning we'll just do a poo at our desks lol!

Seriously though, sending everyones loo time in an email for all to see sounds like grounds for a complaint (in our case we are spoken to individually to be informed of it as part of our stats briefing...not that i agree with that anyway but at this point i need the job for income).

moremore

I know of someone that worked in a well known large retailer that got a bladder problem as soon the manager was told about bladder problem the employee got a message not to leave the floor until first getting permission from a manager. Sometimes it would have then that employee about 3 minutes to get to the toilet as it meant going up lots of floor to get to it anyway. If the employee had to look for a manager first there would certainly have been an accident despite wearing protect pads.

As a result of that I try and avoid that retailer if I can.....

j.e.j.

yvonne13 wrote: »

I was speaking to a friend of mine this evening and she said her boss humiliated her at work today by sending an email around the office stating how long people had taken a bathroom break for, by compiling a list from the day before.

:eek:
now I've heard it all...

debtfreenow

I would be tempted to "fight back" in a position like that, ie:

by timing MYSELF when I went to the loo at weekends (in order to check out how often I went and how long it took each time - down to the specifics of "having a poo", "dealing with a period", etc) and then checking out online for medical statistics to see how long/how often the medics say the average person needs for going to the loo (including extra for "female" needs). I believe it's 5-6 times a day on average that is necessary? Four minutes to walk to/from a loo would mean only being able to go once or twice in 8 hours to fit a "10 minutes in total, including walking time" criteria.

I'd then be straight back to H.R./the boss/whoever was applicable saying "there you are...read MY statistics...read THE health statistics on that. I'm not taking over the odds according to the health statistics" and basically gross them out with detail.

(Not forgetting looking up what health disorders restricted loo breaks might cause people, as I'm sure there must be some - constipation for instance).

After that, I'd take whatever time I took to go to the loo and, if they complained it was too long, I'd have my own records I'd kept to prove to a Tribunal that it HADN'T been too long.

I'm also conscious in my own workplace that it's far from unheard of for managers to deliberately upset staff and those staff then have to go and "compose themselves" in the loo and try to stop crying. I've been in that situation myself. I certainly had a manager that personally made a point of going on and on at each of us until we'd broken down in tears in front of him and we all had to have "composure breaks" in the loo at times. Of course, if the firms concerned aren't concerned that staff are sitting there on the phones trying to hold a "business" conversation with them whilst obviously sobbing their hearts out, then they are obviously entitled to maintain policies that will give such poor "customer service".:cool:

(Re the 2 minute walk to the loo, a pedometer hidden unobtrusively somewhere would help prove how long it takes to physically just walk to the loo).

So, I understand employers don't want staff standing gossiping in the loos or re-applying their make-up and that is not unreasonable. What IS unreasonable though is not allowing enough time for "normal health requirements". My own workplace uses "gossip" as a "weapon" though and I've sometimes found it useful to "turn the tables" on them by sending some "gossip" back at perpetrators.

liney

yvonne13 wrote: »

I was speaking to a friend of mine this evening and she said her boss humiliated her at work todayby sending and email around the office stating how long people had taken a bathroom break for, by compiling a list from the day before.

She said she asked him why he had done it and his reply was because it was something he will be doing everyday from now on so people can hit their targets.

My question is: Does this happen where you work or is it something what people should expect to see no matter where you work.

I did suggest going to HR but I don't know if there is anything they can do.

It is reasonable to monitor time away from ones desk, especially if those spending the most time away are not fulfulling their daily duties.

However, I would consider speaking to individuals the way to handle the situation, not publically scolding. I would forward the email to HR, and ask them to comment.

The question that begs to be answered though is: is your friend upset because people know she takes 4 mins to have a wee, or did she spend half an hour in the loo that day and is embarassed at being caught skiving?

VfM4meplse

The manager obviously suspects time away from desks isn't just for loo breaks, and probably could have approached it in a different way.

moremore

VfM4meplse wrote: »

The manager obviously suspects time away from desks isn't just for loo breaks, and probably could have approached it in a different way.

Well of that the case the manager should have had a word with the person concerned, Email went all of the staff therefore suggesting that all the staff were doing the same thing. No wonder other staff were alienated at being accused of doing the same, very weak management in my opinion, or perhaps it was a friend of the managers that was doing it and did not want to speak to him/her about it and it was easier to send an email to all staff and upset everyone.....