Disabled Toilets

[lambsy_uk]

I overheard a couple of cleaners at work the other day, one was upset about having to clean up in the disabled toilets in the building, it was unecessarily adding to their workload in their opinion. They said they thought that as there were no disabled people working in the offices the disabled toilets should be locked up and out of use.

So what are your thoughts?

Should they be for use by disabled people only? Should they be locked up or not? Does the lack of disabled people working in the building have a bearing on this?

Any other thoughts?

[rose2008-2008]

I am a cleaner and have worked in a building with disabled toilets BUT, on the particular floor where the toilets were situated it was open to the public so in that case there definately should be toilets open. And the building had disabled people working there so yes again. If there is no open to the public area or disabled workers i still think YES there should be toilets for the eventuality of people needing them. There are disabled who work and lots of disabled people around. Yes i think!.

[saasher2012]

Yes they should be left open it's not for them to dictate what should be left open or not, I have great respect for cleaners but in all fairness isn't that what they are getting paid for, I really can't see that it can make much difference to their workload, I'm sure Rose will correct me if I'm wrong!. Why shouldn't they be used by other people as long as the disabled aren't kept waiting to use them.

[rose2008-2008]

Yes your right Saasher and we always had to keep the Disabled Toilet clean and stocked of Toilet Rolls and hand Towels. We even had Toilets on a floor that was not open. They locked them up but when i was standing in for the day cleaner they had to be checked once a week and Toilet cleaner put down them. In case that floor was used again you see.

[saasher2012]

Yes I see Rose & thank you!
Am I right in saying that firms have no choice in the matter & that health & safety requires them to have a disabled toilet even though there are no disabled in the work force?.

[blackburn_stevie]

Disabled toilets should be available to all peeps but with priority if you are disabled. What if you have a need to remove all of your clothes just to have a wee. Maybe you'd need just a bit more room than normal. Maybe you'd need two people in there tto get you ready. There are countless reasons why large/disabled toilets are needed. 

Should they be locked? That's a different kettle of fish altogether. I knew one Bingo hall that had the toilets behind the he main are where you bought your Bingo books. Ladies on one side and men on the other. Each side had a disabled toilet section in it and it was kept locked at all times. The key for the door was kept held in place where all could see it. If it was there, you could take it and go about your business. If not, you could maybe try the one on he other side.

It seemd to work ok.

Cheers,

Steve.

[saasher2012]

I understand that! But it must be awful if you are desperate to go to the loo & have to find someone to either unlock or find a key?.

[lambsy_uk]

So yes it is indeed a legal requirement for a toilet with access for the disabled to be provided.

One should keep in mind that disabled toilets are toilets that have been provided that incorporate certain modifications compared to the usual toilet; modifications that allow for easier and safer access for disabled people. So they are toilets that provide appropriate access for disabled people; they are not however toilets designated solely to be used by disabled people, anyone can use them!

In places of work the number of toilets provided will be aligned with guidelines that stipulate the ratio of toilets to people. One toilet per ten people for example. So a company has to provided enough toilets to cover the number of workers and in some cases the disabled toilets will need to be included in the number in order to meet requirements, especially in smaller companies with more limited resources. Companies are not in the business of providing resources that are never used!

The fact that there are no disabled people in the office means that there's more able bodied people and therefore it may be a legal requirement that the disabled toilet is available so as to provide the correct ratio. If there were a number of disabled people in the building then I could see an argument for making the disabled toilet available to them only (as long as there were enough other toilets to cover the remaining workforce), thus keeping them available at all times for the increased likelihood that a disabled person may need to use it. However having no disabled people in the building means that there is actually less need to give consideration to keeping that toilet available at all times and therefore more reason for able bodied people to use it.

I guess the cleaners concerned didn't take all that into account though!

[saasher2012]

Thanks for clarification .

[rose2008-2008]

Sorry ive only just got back here saasher,,YES it is a legal requirement,,,and so it should be hun!!!!.

[saasher2012]

lol thanks Rose.

[5129frederick]

I see nothing wrong in using a disabled toilet providing there is not a man or woman waiting to use one - mainly in a hospital.  Thus said a lot of the public disabled toilets are keyed off or require a special access card.  

Disabled orr not, surely the most important aspect is to leave the toilet as you found it, or would like to find it.

[saasher2012]

I would agree but unfortunately they don't , even in the able bodied loos, it's bad enough when your able bodied dodging the disgusting state some people leave them in without having to haul yourself out of a wheelchair, or losing balance if your using crutches etc, so although they shouldn't have to be locked I can see why they do it!

[lambsy_uk]

Yes public toilets are a different case because people do abuse them more than workplace toilets. Shouldn't need to be locked but understand why some are; quite.