Posted By Jo Pinfield I work in a factory environment. There are currently no ladies toilets within my area, since they were taken out during a refurbishment six months ago and never replaced. I now have to cross a yard with working fork-lift trucks and lorries to go to the tiolet. Can anyone please advise on my employers responsibility to provide adequate amenities to ensure the female employees health and safety rights are looked after.

Posted By Zoe Barnett Nick is quite right that it is the Workplace Regs that deal with this - but you might like to bear in mind that these Regulations also imply that a shared gents/ladies loo is acceptable, provided, of course, that you can all use it without infringing privacy and decency and that you can lock it from the inside. Is there no loo that you can use in this way? I do appreciate that this is not the ideal solution -even though most architects seem to think it is perfectly acceptable for the disabled - but it may help you to avoid the need to cross the busy yard.

Posted By Brian Dawson Jo they have to be "suitable and sufficient". Sufficient = to enable everyone at work to use them without undue delay. I have known HSE to insist on additional womens toilets in building simply because they had to travel too far within the building. See also Regulation 17 of the same Regulations which is about vehicles and pedestrians being able to circulate in a safe manner. ie it is not acceptable to have to dodge arround FLTs on the way to the lavvy!