Comments by Rosie Hatton

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