Dirty Office Desks: Do You Provide Clean Eating Areas?

David Sharp - Workplace Law Network
Online advisor - 120 posts

Dean - The employer is perfectly within their rights to dictate that employees use the canteen facilities provided if they so wish.

There can be a number of good reasons for this.

First, as the original article refers to, desks are actually quite unhygienic places in the first place.

Second, the smell of food can be unpleasant and it is reasonable to expect nearby workers not to have to suffer the aroma of garlic spaghetti bolognaise if they don't want to.

Third, there is an obvious bacterial risk from the presence of food remains in an office or industrial environment, which is likely to encourage pest control problems.

Fourth, there is a risk (in an office, at least) of spilling food on important paperwork.

And fifth (and perhaps the highest risk) is the danger of bumping into someone when carrying a plate of hot food or generally spilling it in transit. We've all seen accidents like this occur.

Balanced against all this is the negative reaction you are likely to get from staff if you stop them eating at their desk, especially when they are eating sandwiches or other cold food. I guess a lot is going to depend on the nature of the work and the culture within the organisation.

I'd love to see the results of a survey into this. I reckon we'd find about 70% of companies do actually allow people to eat lunch at their desk.

David Sharp, Managing Director, Workplace Law

Anonymous

Our staff are provided with a tiny kitchen area approx 2M square. This has a microwave, kettle, sink and fridge and is used by 17 staff.

In order to stagger the use of these facilities some of our staff would have to start lunch at breakfast time! We all eat dinner at our desks (including Directors and Management) This in turn means that we work longer hours than those staff members in other departments who get paid the same but religiously take a full hour for lunch.

We work on a very small industrial estate where there is no-where to go other than the greasy cafe over the road...

Can we push the issue that the staff in our building (the only place canteen facilities are not provided) should be paid for at least half an hour of their lunch?

Our staff are in the office 43 hours and are paid 39, other than strolling around an industrial estate or driving 15 minutes to the nearest town there's no option but to continue working whilst dining at our desks.

Anonymous

There is acually more to this than just basic hygene.

1. It is important that all staff take breaks, this should include getting up and moving about. To insist that staff use other facilities to eat can have added benefits and act as an incentive for them to get away from their desk.

2. Also, try this simple test:-

Step one - place a piece of paper on the desk of a worker who eats at their desk.

Step two - turn the keyboard upside down over the paper and tap the keyboard several times (see how much rubbish comes out)

Do not forget to have computers cleaned on a regular basis as well as desks

3. Vermin control

4. The list goes on and on - see others comments above and below

Fiona Potts
Member - 10 posts

We have a policy in place where no hot food is allowed to be removed from teh restaurant, but we allow people to eat sandwiches, etc. I realise the hygiene issue is tehre, but when we re-tender the cleaning contract, desk cleaning will be ramped-up!!!

Lisa Hofen
Member - 3 posts

This article has been very provocative and has prompted comment from a number of staff who have read this article.

Quite rightly, the workplace must be kept clean both generally and for individuals working at their desks. I like to add that often it is virtually impossible for cleaners to obtain access to the desk surface due to huge amount of papers etc. being left lying around.

If a clear desk policy is implemented and actually followed by staff, a general cleaning contract should be sufficient to ensure a clean working environment.

(This also provides an added bonus of information confidentiality and security where an organisation may be vulnerable under the DPA).

Dean Duneclift
Member - 19 posts

In reply to Claire Mitchell:

If you are entitled to 1 hour for lunch, then you really should take it. You say you are in the office longer than your colleagues. The crucial point is whether you are working for that additional time, or whether you are just present. If you are working then you're are doing so voluntarily and unpaid as you are doing so in your own time.

You could certainly ask to be paid for this, but I'm not altogether convinced you would get very far as the question of whether you actually need to work this extra time could be raised. I'm sure there are bosses out there whose opinion would be that if you need to do this, then you're not working hard enough in your normal hours !!

Perhaps the solution could be to negotiate a 30 minute lunch break and go home earlier?

Anonymous

We have a team of 30 people in our office. It's a great office.

We have a kitchen, with all the necessary cooking and refreshment facilities, but the only place to eat is at our desks. We have no other allocated eating area, unless you balance it on your knee on a sofa in a pokey spare room.

We are also situated in town so there are pleny of alternatives - are we by rights entitled to an allocated rest / eating area? Are we right to want a table and chairs that we could sit at to eat?

Thanks in advance

Peter.

Dean Duneclift
Member - 19 posts

Peter,

Regulation 25 of Workplace(Health, Safety & Welfare) Regulations covers the subject. I have included the reg. in its entirety below, including The AcOP and guidance; Hope it helps !

DEAN.

Regulation 25: Facilities for rest and to eat meals
Regulation

(1) Suitable and sufficient rest facilities shall be provided at readily accessible places.

(2) Rest facilities provided by virtue of paragraph (1) shall -

(a) where necessary for reasons of health or safety include, in the case of a new workplace, an extension or a conversion, rest facilities provided in one or more rest rooms, or, in other cases, in rest rooms or rest areas;

(b) include suitable facilities to eat meals where food eaten in the workplace would otherwise be likely to become contaminated.

(3) Rest rooms and rest areas shall include suitable arrangements to protect non-smokers from discomfort caused by tobacco smoke.

(4) Suitable facilities shall be provided for any person at work who is a pregnant woman or nursing mother to rest.

(5) Suitable and sufficient facilities shall be provided for persons at work to eat meals where meals are regularly eaten in the workplace.

ACOP
227
For workers who have to stand to carry out their work, suitable seats should be provided for their use if the type of work gives them an opportunity to sit from time to time.

228
Suitable seats should be provided for workers to use during breaks. These should be in a suitable place where personal protective equipment (for example respirators or hearing protection) need not be worn. In offices and other reasonably clean workplaces, work seats or other seats in the work area will be sufficient, provided workers are not subject to excessive disturbance during breaks, for example, by contact with the public. In other cases one or more separate rest areas should be provided (which in the case of new workplaces, extensions and conversions should include a separate rest room).

229
Rest areas or rooms provided in accordance with regulation 25(2) should be large enough, and have sufficient seats with backrests and tables, for the number of workers likely to use them at any one time.

230
If workers frequently have to leave their work area, and to wait until they can return, there should be a suitable rest area where they can wait.

231
Where workers regularly eat meals at work suitable and sufficient facilities should be provided for the purpose. Such facilities should also be provided where food would otherwise be likely to be contaminated, including by dust or water, for example:

(a) cement works, clay works, foundries, potteries, tanneries, and laundries;

(b) the manufacture of glass bottles and pressed glass articles, sugar, oil cake, jute, and tin or terne plates; and

(c) glass bevelling, fruit preserving, gut scraping, tripe dressing, herring curing, and the cleaning and repairing of sacks.

232
Seats in work areas can be counted as eating facilities provided they are in a sufficiently clean place and there is a suitable surface on which to place food. Eating facilities should include a facility for preparing or obtaining a hot drink, such as an electric kettle, a vending machine or a canteen. Workers who work during hours or at places where hot food cannot be obtained in, or reasonably near to, the workplace should be provided with the means for heating their own food.

233
Eating facilities should be kept clean to a suitable hygiene standard. Responsibility for cleaning should be clearly allocated. Steps should be taken where necessary to ensure that the facilities do not become contaminated by substances brought in on footwear or clothing. If necessary, adequate washing and changing facilities should be provided in a conveniently accessible place.

234
Canteens or restaurants may be used as rest facilities, provided that there is no obligation to purchase food in order to use them.

235
Good hygiene standards should be maintained in those parts of rest facilities used for eating or preparing food and drinks.


Guidance

236
The subject of eating in the workplace is also dealt with in other Regulations concerning asbestos, lead, and ionising radiations, and in Approved Codes of Practice on the control of substances hazardous to health and on work in potteries15-22, 74.


Facilities for pregnant women and nursing mothers

ACOP
237
Facilities for pregnant women and nursing mothers to rest should be conveniently situated in relation to sanitary facilities and, where necessary, include the facility to lie down.

Anonymous

Our employer has stated that those staff who work in customer areas are entitiled to time away from their desks for refreshments but those who do not have to eat / drink at their desks. Is this reasonable and / or legal?

Dean Duneclift
Member - 19 posts

Pat,

Do you have a specific place provided for refreshments, e.g. canteen or kitchen? If so, I would see no reason why you should be barred from using it. I would say it is most definitely unreasonable.

If no specific facilities exist then may I refer you to Regulation 25 (1) and paragraph 232 above.

Another factor to consider is the environment in which tou work, in terms of hygiene.

Rosie Hatton
Member - 1 post

I work in an office where c20 people are based as their main place of work. Due to the nature of our business, there are often another 10-20 people 'hot-desking' in this office.

I and several colleagues have been lobbying for us to get a microwave put into our kitchen for heating food. Our kitchen is adequately sized and contains 2 sofas, a hot/cold water dispenser and sink, a dishwasher, a fridge and a table with 4 chairs.

We have been refused the microwave and have been given no specific reason for this refusal. Common sense would suggest that it's because, as we are a office in which external meetings often take place, the company is worried about food smells pervading into the meeting spaces.

The company may argue that employees can buy hot food from several places c10 mins walk away from the office. I would argue that in Central London, this is expensive and time consuming for those of us who don't have 20 mins to spend out of the office every lunchtime.

We feel that although, yes, this is an office where meetings take place, we are human beings and as this is our main and permanent workplace ? somewhere where we are bound to spend 8.5 hrs per day, that it?s reasonable that we should have food heating facilities.

I recently wrote to our HR department asking when our microwave is being installed and the I and the rest of the department was informed, in non-negotiable terms by our Board Director, that there would not ever be a microwave here, and there never was any promise of one. When we moved into this office in May 2004, we were categorically told that there would be a microwave in the kitchen ? but that?s a side issue.

In my above correspondence, I proposed, if we did have a microwave, that we refrain from heating obviously smelly foods, curry/fish etc and always eat hot food in the kitchen. I also proposed a trial in which we would be careful to ensure that the *3* doors between the kitchen and the meeting rooms (2 between the kitchen and our reception) would always remain closed. This was rejected without discussion.

We have another office in the UK, which also hosts meetings, which has several microwaves.

Are we entitled to insist on a hearing on this issue and if so, under what grounds?

Thanks

Anonymous

I work for a large Local Authority that has now decided to withdraw it's canteen facilities which was available to over 1000 members of staff. No consultation or prior warning of this has taken place and the majority of us are now left with not even basic cooking facilities. Does Regulation 25 cover this eventuality and are employers under any obligation to provide such facilities.

Anonymous

We have a kichen in our building, and would like to have a microwave for use of staff. The boss has said no on the grounds that it would require everyone in the company who wished to use the microwave to get basic food hygiene certificates! I can't find any guidance on this anywhere (and there has always been microwaves in my previous companies' kitchens!) - does anyone know where I can find some concrete guidance? Or does anyone know if this is correct?

Anonymous

My work place currently provides a room where staff can eat and sit. We have a microwave, kettle, fridge and toaster.

Unfortuneatley it was never made clear who was responsible for the keeping this all functioning, therfore no one has bothered to keep it nice.

The fridge has never been cleaned and is full of ice, there is limescale and a whole host of nasties and the boss has told me she will close it.

It is the only place the staff can sit or get a glass of water, and as a pregnant woman who is standing all day I really need to this facility during my 8.5 hour day.

Surely the boss should let ALL the staff know how fortunate we are to have a staff room and get us all to agree to take care of it rather than just merely taking it away without giving us a chance to keep it.

Anonymous

It would be unreasonable to close this facility if there is no other suitable place available. I see the boss's point of view about looking after it, but if it was never made clear whose responsibility it was to clean & maintain the area, then the boss must also accept a portion of the blame for its condition, and for allowing it to get to this point before taking any action.

Anonymous

My small company (around 5 in the office and 6 travelling reps) have just moved offices.

At first we were told that when we moved into the new office we would not be allowed to eat hot food anywhere in the office. We reluctantly accepted this, but worried about what we would do in the cold weather! We have now been told, a few months after moving in that we are no longer able to eat cold food. This also includes any kind of breakfast or fruit/ chocolate/ crisps that we would before eat at our desk. This, you say is reasonable as it is not hygienic to eat at desk/ workplaces.

However, we have little or no real eating area. We have a very small kitchen which also houses the very large and hot photocopier and printer and has no seating area at all. The only possible seating area would be the steps leading up to the fire escape! Another kitchen on the landing, which is ?shared? with our building is too small. Our company have said they will buy a ?stool? for this small kitchen ? although it is no strictly our kitchen and is extremely ?pokey?. This would only fit one us at one time.

We think it is totally unacceptable that we are being told we cannot eat snacks (i.e. apples etc) at our desks. We have no allocated breaks where we could go somewhere to eat snack s and we all think to leave our desk in a very busy office if we want to eat a snack is totally unreasonable. My colleague and I like to ?graze? throughout the day on health food like carrots and fruit, which have no offending smell and we are furious that we are being told we cannot do this!

When I brought this up in a meeting I was told that eating food is now to be ?discouraged?. I think our employers don?t want us to eat at all! They are certainly discouraging us from being healthy in my opinion! When asked if they would provide luncheon vouchers towards eating lunch out we were told no. This despite the fact that the travelling reps get money each day for lunch. We work in central London and do not want to pay £6+ to eat out at lunchtime and like to make packed lunches to save money. Now we have nowhere to eat packed lunch!!

Can they, by law dictate to us that we cannot eat? Especially when we have no real alternative? Surely as humans we should be allowed to eat in a place where we spend 8+ hours a day?

Your thoughts on this would be appreciated.

Anonymous

I'm no expert, but it sounds hideously unreasonable. I would leave - as I did from the company above that wouldn't let us have a microwave...!

Rosie

Anonymous

I'm an FM. During induction, I always introduce new staff to the rest facilities available. I also tell them that it is their responsibility to clean their own PC and phone with the santitation wipes I provide, though I also have the IT kit and phones deep cleaned 2/yr. After the last deep clean, I photocopied a newspaper article relating to the number and type of bugs found on desks. I put a copy of it on each desk (150). I also desk-dropped a memo from the Chief Exec asking staff to ensure they took 1 hr lunch break, using the staff lounge. Our organisation provides a staff lounge with couches;easy chairs;dining tables and chairs; good decor; artwork;huge potted palms; a radio; magazines. The kitchen has hot water boiler as well as kettles; microwave; toaster; fridges. Tea, coffee, sugar and milk are all supplied FOC, as well as crockery and cutlery. Approximately 6 staff per day use this facility. Why? Well, I never see any of the 10 Directors using the area; they are ALL to be found eating at their desks!!

In addition, I recently asked staff to REALLY clear their desks each Friday evening so that the cleaners could do a FULL clean of the desk, and provided a laminated desk-card saying "It's Friday, I've cleared my desk . . . Please carry out a full clean" Result? Desks not cleared, but cards displayed, cleaners who (as agreed) do not move items but clean around them, hence numerous complaints that leftover food-crumbs and drinks-rings are still on the desk (below mouse mats that the member of staff didn't move)! Aaaaghhhh. How I wish that, as a rookie FM, somebody had told me how frustrating the whole cleaning thing was going to be, and how grateful I would be if Leaders would Lead by Example!

Anonymous

I have been asked to find out if an employer has by some regulation or other to provide the means to heat up food (e.g. a microwave oven)if a staff restroom/dining room (but no canteen) is provided.Can somebody help please?

Anonymous

Simon, I refer you to Regulation 25, para 232 of the Workplace Regs. which states;

232
Seats in work areas can be counted as eating facilities provided they are in a sufficiently clean place and there is a suitable surface on which to place food. Eating facilities should include a facility for preparing or obtaining a hot drink, such as an electric kettle, a vending machine or a canteen. Workers who work during hours or at places where hot food cannot be obtained in, or reasonably near to, the workplace should be provided with the means for heating their own food.

Samantha Brown
Member - 1 post

Hi I would like to know if my company has to provide facilities to heat up food? A number of people in the office have put in a request for a microwave but it has been rejected. We have a fridge and a kettle but that is all we have. The director of the comapny does not like the smell of hot foods and that is the reason our request has been rejected. Could you please shed some light on our situation?
Thank you.

Rhiannon Morgan
Member - 6 posts

Slightly off course here but is there a specific number of employees that a company reaches when it has to provide somewhere to buy food (canteen, vending machine, etc..) rather than just heating facilities?

Louise Barker
Member - 1 post

Hi. We seem to be reasonably well accommodated at work as far as facilities go. We have a small kitchen (approx. 40 people have access to it) with microwave, hot/cold water machine, fridge. It is sufficient for staff to make their own lunches / hot & cold drinks in. There isn't anywhere specifically for people to eat or rest, so meals are taken at desks or staff can pop into town (as we are situated in the centre).

The issue is: who keeps the kitchen clean? We have a cleaner for the offices who makes sure everything is wiped down & accessible but does not wash/dry up dirty pots left lying around (quite rightly - people should be responsible for their own dirty pots). The main issue is what is left on the draining board over night.

A memo has gone up on the noticeboard underlying the fact that anyone who leaves cups, plates, cutlery etc. out in the kitchen overnight will have their effects confiscated & if they are not claimed after a week, binned. I have come into work this morning to discover that there is not ONE piece of cutlery in the kitchen for people to make drinks and I think these draconian measures are a little heavy considering we have a right to hot drinks. Does anyone have a solution to this?!!