Health and safety requirements are mandatory in all workplaces, but did you know that providing welfare facilities are also a requirement?
By law, every workplace needs to offer a high-quality functional welfare facility. Suitable facilities will make your workforce healthy, happy and, in turn, more productive. Please read our new blog below about the importance of these welfare facilities and discover how Flintham Cabins can help you provide the appropriate site accommodation with our mobile welfare units.
Water and Washing
All accommodations onsite must include running water with appropriate washing facilities. These washrooms should consist of an area where workers can wash their faces and arms. These facilities should be separate from the toilet areas so your workforce can stay hygienic and clean. In addition, it should be a sterile space in itself to wash there before eating food and avoid contaminating their food.
Per the requirements of the Workplace Regulations (Health, Safety, and Welfare) 1992, you are required to follow specific guidelines for the washing water you supply your employees.
Depending on the size of your workforce, you need to scale up the number of washbasins they have. Above six employees require two basins, this rises to three after 26 employees, with four after 51 and five after seventy-six. So be aware of the size of your team.
You are required to provide
- Clean water
- Hot and cold water
- Soap or any appropriate means of washing
- Towels
Additionally, there should be good ventilation and appropriate lighting in this washing area. Also, if your workplace has to deal with foul work, then work showers should also be provided for hygiene.
At Flintham Cabins, all of our mobile welfare units in London and around the UK are easily modified to become the washing facility that your workforce needs.
Toilets
Worksite toilets must be your priority when establishing your welfare facilities. They should be functional and have a high hygiene standard to be adequate. But what does that specifically mean?
Firstly there should be enough toilets and washbasins for your workforce; people shouldn’t have to queue for them for a long time. The number of facilities is also grows depending on the size of your workforce, in tandem with the washing facilities we talked about earlier. So the same pattern of growth is used. For more details, read this government paper.
You should supply toilet paper and a means of disposing of sanitary items whilst maintaining the facility’s hygiene. There should also be adequate ventilation for these environments.
During our 35 years of experience, we have developed toilet solutions suitable for any workplace environment. The product of these years of experience has created our steel container hire service. As a result, we can provide self-contained chemical lavatories that don’t need main water, power or sewage connections to operate in any environment.
Drinking-Water
For the well-being of your employees, you should have a constant supply of clean, drinkable water on site. Make sure it is marked and separated from any other liquids on site.
In the same law, you must provide drinking water of an adequate standard. If connected to a public source, it must be free of contamination, but bottled water dispensers are a good backup. In addition, it should be accessible to all employees.
A great welfare unit can provide a self-contained, clean environment for your drinking water. Whether its purpose is a canteen or other eating area can be connected to water storage or public system for your worker’s convenience.
Changing Rooms and Rest Areas
Onsite accommodation is required for your staff too. These can span anything from a canteen or dining area to a changing room or just somewhere to take a break.
You wouldn’t want your staff wandering the area during their lunch break. In addition, off-site lunches can lead to lax returns or accidentally more extended lunches. Our welfare units can be equipped to be your onsite canteen. A place where your employees can unwind and prepare hot and cold meals and drinks. This is where you should supply some essential cooking equipment such as kettles or microwaves.
If your job requires your workforce to change clothes, you need to supply an area. This is where a welfare unit can help you. By hiring one of our units, you can provide a safe, private space for your staff to change into their protective clothing and store their personal items before work.
Some units can be equipped with a drying room, depending on your requirements. Working outdoors leaves you vulnerable to the weather, so you should help your staffs mental health by providing them with a way to dry off after a day at work.
Three Generations of Experience
Our site cabins for hire are customisable to suit the needs they are required for. Each one of our units comes with:
- 6Kva diesel generator
- Toilet compartment
- Wash station
- Drying room
- Running hot and cold water
Combined with our ability to customise them to your needs, these features ensure that our welfare units are everything you could want to keep your workforce happy. So contact our expert team today to discuss your requirements with us.
