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Carl Thomas
Member - 11 posts
Hello
I have just found this site and it looks just the ticket. I am a union rep at work and as such I am always looking up various bits and pieces.
I have searches for the answer for the question I have but unable to find a difinitive answer, and as such would be grateful for any help.
We have had new toilet and showers at work installed recently. The problem is the are in the same small roon(approx 2.5m by 3m) and there is not partion between toilet and basin area and the shower. The bosses answer is to fit some sort of curtain about 2 ft in front of the shower cubicle for privacy.
Some of our members and I have reservations about having the shower in the same room as the toilet as also there is no lock on the door.
Any info please
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ruth malkin
Member - 8 posts
This is not a direct answer to your question but it is intended to show how poorly thought out the situation you describe is, to give you some more ammunition to encourage a change.
Is there also an accessible shower for disabled members of staff? It would need to be bigger than the one you're describing. If there are staff members who cannot access the shower for physical reasons, then your employer is discriminating. Information on the size and layout of an accessible shower can be found in part M of the building regulations.
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Carl Thomas
Member - 11 posts
No there is not any provisions for disabled people. The only thing I would say about that is, that it is a physical job and we don't have any disabled. Thx for pointing me in the right direction, I will read up on the regulations
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janet burton
Member - 107 posts
It may be a physical job, but that does not mean you don't have disabled people, even if you do not have physically disabled people at this point in time. The fact you do not have them does not mean you never will have them, and the fact it is a physical job does not mean disabled people cannot do it.
Read up on the Disability Discrimination Act while you are looking up regulations. If you are a union rep you should already have at least some grounding in anti-discrimination laws.
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David Partington
Member - 12 posts
Carl, I wonder why anyone thought this was a good idea? Without a lock. With a lock then this situation would be ok. Why not simply ask for a look and this should resolve all matters of decency/ modesty.
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Colin England
Member - 62 posts
Hi Carl
This site is for HR professionals and people employed to deal with HR matters. It is not for employees - but you probably fall somewhere in the middle so can be considered a proper member. In any case I am all for everyone ahving a proper undersatnding of the law and the many problems involved in employing staff.
May I ask you Carl, if you know of a forum like this for union members or for non employers? If there is no such forum then there should be. Maybe you can get your union or the TUC to set one up?
Regards
Colin
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sheena farenden
Member - 91 posts
Carl
I have sent a private message. I support reps on this forum as there are many who despite being managers and HR professionals are also union reps and employees. I am one of them.
I think it is important for all to remember this and not forget that this guy is trying his best to find solutions. Does it matter really if he is getting answers or putting suggestions forward on this site as long as they are relevant and correct.
As I have seen many times on this site there are many managers out there who need advice from knowledgeable Reps as they have the wrong end of the stick regarding many things.
Good on you Carl for looking for help from all sources not just from one perspective
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Carl Thomas
Member - 11 posts
I appologise if my comments about disabled people offended anybody. What i meant to convey is that the requires you to climb in and out of tight spaces, as such a toilet shouldn't be a problem. Of course there may be a special request for someone, although I am not aware of any.As we have an office It does raise the question of disrimination on that side. I may raise this issue in the future.
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Carl Thomas
Member - 11 posts
David
I know, it beggars belief. They didn't even fit an overflow pipe in case of a build up of methane, nor did they secure the ends of the drainage pipes. The proplem with fitting a lock is, whilst it is not our only accessible toilet in and around the building it is our primary one. It has two basins and two urinals. This falls well below the recomended amount for our numbers but that doesn't seem to matter.
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Carl Thomas
Member - 11 posts
Sheena
Thx a lot. Need all the help We can get. And what better place. I can't find any message. It is shwing one on the envelope but when I go to inbox there is nothing. Can you resend please.
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Colin England
Member - 62 posts
Hi
I fully agree with the comments made by Sheena -- "As I have seen many times on this site there are many managers out there who need advice from knowledgeable Reps as they have the wrong end of the stick regarding many things". Many HR professionals forget that they are employees too and as such need the assistance and protection of unions. But I would like to see some special sites for Union people - where they can talk among themselves and get advice from their union or the TUC. Maybe we should agitate for this??
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Carl Thomas
Member - 11 posts
On the 5th and 19th of June you have advised people that 'This site is for HR Proffessionals'. As you are retired it does raise the question where you yourself fit in. Also this site is for employers and manages of Health & Safety. Now I do work along side our management team to protect and enforce health & safety regulations, which is proved to be cost effective if nothing else to employers.
To answer your question regarding a 'union forum', there is no such forum I know of, but that is not to say there is not one. We do obviously have a support system and branch meetings twice a month which facilitates our needs.
From my point of view, the world has moved on rapidly since the days of'Thatcher and Scargill' and it is vital to any union rep to keep up with modern
EU legislation. Hence my participation in this site. Whilst strike action, or the threat of, is still a vital tool in our armoury, ultimately, knowledge is power.
Now I could easily set up a bogus account and continue to post under false preteces, I choose not to. It is better to be honest and appeal to the good
people of this site to help with any questions I might have.
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sheena farenden
Member - 91 posts
Colin
I am bemused one minute you agree and then seconds later you disagree. Yes there are sites out there for Reps. TUC Union Reps is one.
However as this site has shown in the past there are many managers who like myself are also union reps so I am therefore able to use both legitimately.
I feel from reading many posts on this site it is an absolute necessity to have Reps and managers, as well as friendly lawyers to ensure we do the right thing. I have seen many incorrect postings because people have the attitude this is what we do so it is right.
Why discriminate we all want the same thing to do our jobs correctly and to the best of our abilities including correctly following legislation and ensuring our staff members wellbeing in the process
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Phil Baptiste
Member - 3 posts
Carl,
to return to your original question, the facilities should have been installed to current building regs, with the emphasis on part M, access for disabled users...
Philby'
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