Welfare at Work

Dettol

Hope some one can advise on my work situation.

Where i work we have a porta cabin..an outside porta loo (same as car boots or festivals ect) which is emptied once per week.

There is 8 employees and we work in pairs,so thats four persons per twenty four hour period and we work 365 days per year.

The main issue we have is the site we work on has a water pipe that comes out of an old unused house (on our grounds) and basically a hose pipe for want of a better word,feeds cold water into out hut and we have a small old boiler on wall that makes hot water connected to sink/taps.

We dont have a cold water feed as they cant regulate the cold water (legionella risk).

Issue we all have is..we go for a wee or a number 2 in the outside toilet but we have to open the outside door,come into the Hut and then fill up a washing up bowl with the hot water and then pour bottled water into the tub to bring the hot water down to a temperature cool enough to wash hands.

We think thats ignoring the HSE at work welfare laws..but our employer doesn't agree.

I should add..the sink where we get hot water (turn tap on with germs from just been to toilet) is also the sink we wash our plates/cups/glasses up in and also wash food etc before consuming (fruit and veg ect)

Appreciate any thoughts or opinions and really can someone explain if this is breaking any laws.

nicechap

Dettol wrote: »

Hope some one can advise on my work situation.

Where i work we have a porta cabin..an outside porta loo (same as car boots or festivals ect) which is emptied once per week.

There is 8 employees and we work in pairs,so thats four persons per twenty four hour period and we work 365 days per year.

The main issue we have is the site we work on has a water pipe that comes out of an old unused house (on our grounds) and basically a hose pipe for want of a better word,feeds cold water into out hut and we have a small old boiler on wall that makes hot water connected to sink/taps.

We dont have a cold water feed as they cant regulate the cold water (legionella risk).

Issue we all have is..we go for a wee or a number 2 in the outside toilet but we have to open the outside door,come into the Hut and then fill up a washing up bowl with the hot water and then pour bottled water into the tub to bring the hot water down to a temperature cool enough to wash hands.

We think thats ignoring the HSE at work welfare laws..but our employer doesn't agree.

I should add..the sink where we get hot water (turn tap on with germs from just been to toilet) is also the sink we wash our plates/cups/glasses up in and also wash food etc before consuming (fruit and veg ect)

Appreciate any thoughts or opinions and really can someone explain if this is breaking any laws.

Please consult a lawyer if you want legal opinion, many do a free 15 minute initial consultation.

In the meantime invest in some of this (other brands like your user name available)

https://www.amazon.co.uk/s/?ie=UTF8&keywords=purell+hand+sanitizer&index=aps&!!!!!googhydr-21&ref=pd_sl_7kez3son5s_e&adgrpid=54214829918&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvadid=259093189567&hvpos=1t1&hvnetw=g&hvrand=8995325497665963743&hvqmt=e&hvdev=t&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=1006826&hvtargid=kwd-1683789690

theoretica

You could also prepare the hand washing water before you do into the loo.

Dettol

Thank you kindly for your time..but neither really answers the question.

But thank you both anyway.

SandraX

Not sure but could you consult environmental health at your local council?

getmore4less

If the water supply to the house is standard mains then it will be possible to provide a safe potable cold supply to anywhere on the grounds including your hut.

Dettol

SandraX wrote: »

Not sure but could you consult environmental health at your local council?

Thats a great idea..wasnt aware they had them at council,most certainly worth a call when they return next week...Thank you.

getmore4less wrote: »

If the water supply to the house is standard mains then it will be possible to provide a safe potable cold supply to anywhere on the grounds including your hut.

Sadly no as supply is fed via a hose pipe basically and this is exposed to elements.:(

But thank you.

stator

nicechap wrote: »

Please consult a lawyer if you want legal opinion, many do a free 15 minute initial consultation.

In the meantime invest in some of this (other brands like your user name available)

https://www.amazon.co.uk/s/?ie=UTF8&keywords=purell+hand+sanitizer&index=aps&!!!!!googhydr-21&ref=pd_sl_7kez3son5s_e&adgrpid=54214829918&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvadid=259093189567&hvpos=1t1&hvnetw=g&hvrand=8995325497665963743&hvqmt=e&hvdev=t&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=1006826&hvtargid=kwd-1683789690

Remember hand sanitizer doesn't kill all germs. You need to wash your hands properly to get rid of all germs

Ja7188

Presumably there are no public conveniences within walking distance of the site? If there are, it might be easier to just use these rather than go down the route of any form of official complaint...

unforeseen

As you have a potable water source in a house on site, then HSE requirements are met surely.

agrinnall

You haven't said what it is that you think your employer should be doing the meet what you think the requirements are. Don't forget that if it costs too much to bring things to the standard you want you could end up without a job.