Welfare at Work
What welfare facilities do I need to provide?
The Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations state that employers must provide ‘suitable and sufficient’ welfare facilities for the well-being of their employees while at work.'Welfare facilities' includes areas such as toilets, washing and changing facilities and somewhere clean to eat and drink during breaks.
The extent of the facilities you should have in place will depend on the number of people you employ and the work they will be undertaking, but as a guide you will need to provide:-
- Enough toilets and wash basins for those expected to use them (including disabled toilets).
- Where possible, separate male and female facilities.
- Clean, well-lit and ventilated facilities.
- A supply of hot and cold running water.
- A supply of toilet paper, soap and a means of drying hands – eg paper towels.
- An area for eating and drinking with some way of getting a hot drink e.g. kettle or vending machine.
- A way of heating food eg a microwave if hot food cannot be purchased near by.
- A supply of clean drinking water either tap or bottled.
- Changing facilities if the work involves wearing specialist clothing.
- Rest facilities for pregnant and nursing mothers.
Remember if your staff work at remote workplaces or on construction sites, you still need to make appropriate arrangements – eg chemical toilets, water containers etc.
Click to download leaflet ‘Welfare at Work’(81KB)
Click to download leaflet on 'Provision of welfare facilities at fixed construction sites' (32KB)
Click to download leaflet on 'Provision of welfare facilities at transient construction sites' (33KB)
For more information Contact Us
