Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Many Workers In UK Lack Decent Toilet Facilities: Unite

UK’s second largest trade union, Unite is demanding that employers take action to ensure that workers are granted toilet dignity in the workplace.

According to Unite tens of thousands of workers in the UK either are not provided with decent toilets or have undue, unnecessary or officious restrictions placed on them when they attempt to use the facilities provided.


Unite highlighted the problems experienced by workers on Monday (19) as it was World Toilet Day.

Although much of the emphasis on this day is about providing clean toilets in the developing world, Unite believes that a spotlight needs to be shone on the problems experienced by many UK workers on a daily basis.

Examples discovered by Unite where toilet dignity is denied include, bank workers being required to urinate in a bucket, no female toilets being provided on construction sites and bus drivers not being allowed a break for over five hours at a time.

The sectors where Unite has identified problems where workers are often denied toilet dignity include; banking, bus driving, construction, finance, lorry driving, warehousing, and agriculture.

Unite assistant general secretary Gail Cartmail said, “it is simply disgraceful that in 2018 tens of thousands of UK workers are denied toilet dignity at work. The examples that Unite has revealed are simply staggering and it is clearly deeply humiliating for the workers who are being denied toilet dignity”.

“Employers have got absolutely no excuse for ensuring toilet dignity and if they fail to do so they should be prosecuted by the HSE. Unite will not be passive on this issue if workers are denied toilet dignity we will name and shame the guilty parties.”

Unite has also found that women, in particular, are denied toilet dignity, especially when they are on their period. Unite launched a period dignity campaign in September and the campaign is now being extended to sectors such as construction and passenger transport where there are additional challenges.

Having to continually hold on to use a toilet has wide-ranging health implications which include, urinary tract infections, damage to the bladder and the bowel and can cause toxins to build up in the body.

Employers have a clear duty to provide decent toilets and washing facilities as part of the Welfare (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992, with separate regulations applying to the construction industry. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) administers these regulations and while it has the power to take legal action this rarely occurs, the trade union said.

More For You

Bhim Kohli Murder Trial: Teenager's Admission of Guilt Revealed to Jury
The attack took place on 1 September last year in Franklin Park, Braunstone Town, Leicestershire. (Photo credit: Facebook)

Bhim Kohli murder: Teenager on trial said ‘I did it’, jury told

A 15-YEAR-OLD boy accused of killing an 80-year-old man in a Leicester park told police, “I had my reasons, but I did it,” a court heard.

The boy is charged with murdering Bhim Kohli at Franklin Park, Braunstone Town, in September last year. A 13-year-old girl, also on trial, is accused of manslaughter. Both were 14 and 12 at the time and cannot be named due to their ages.

Keep ReadingShow less
Mark-Carney-Reuters

Carney said he would stand up for Canada’s way of life and push back against American actions affecting trade. (Photo: Reuters)

Mark Carney vows to fight US trade war as Canada's next prime minister

MARK CARNEY, Canada's incoming prime minister, has pledged to take on the United States in an escalating trade dispute, vowing to defend the country’s interests against US president Donald Trump’s policies.

Speaking to supporters in Ottawa after being elected leader of the Liberal Party, Carney said he would stand up for Canada’s way of life and push back against American actions affecting trade.

Keep ReadingShow less
uk fog

Temperatures are set to drop across the country. (Representational image: Getty)

Met Office issues yellow warning for fog in north England

THE MET OFFICE has issued a yellow weather warning for fog across parts of the North East and Yorkshire, including Durham, Newcastle, and York.

The warning is in effect for over 10 hours, from 10:40 pm on Sunday until 9:00 pm on Monday.

Keep ReadingShow less
India under pressure as Trump claims victory in tariff dispute
Modi shakes hands with Trump before a meeting at Hyderabad House in New Delhi on February 25, 2020. (Photo: Getty Images)

India under pressure as Trump claims victory in tariff dispute

INDIA's government faces mounting questions after US president Donald Trump claimed the country has agreed to "cut tariffs way down" ahead of his 2 April deadline for imposing reciprocal tariffs on trading partners.

The controversy erupted after Trump's remarks from the Oval Office, where he accused India of charging "massive tariffs" that make it "almost restrictive" to sell American goods in the country.

Keep ReadingShow less
King Charles: Differences are source of strength, not problems

King Charles III and Ukraine's president Volodymyr Zelensky pose for a photo in the Saloon at Sandringham House during an audience on the Sandringham Estate in Norfolk, eastern England, on March 2, 2025. (Photo by JOE GIDDENS/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

King Charles: Differences are source of strength, not problems

KING CHARLES made an appeal for unity in "uncertain times", as the 76-year-old monarch emerges as a key figure in the UK's diplomatic drive over Ukraine.

Britain and European countries have been scrambling to present a united front following US president Donald Trump's sudden withdrawal of support for Ukraine three years into Russia's invasion.

Keep ReadingShow less