Posted By David
Can anyone clarify the requirement for toilet facilties in the workplace. Looking at the table in the Workplace Regulations I am still unclear whether there is a need to have seperate toilets for male and female. Am I right in saying that if there is a single toilet with a lockable door then this can be used by both male and female however does this only apply for up to 5 employees? When the table in the Regulations states a guide of 3 w/c for 26-50 employees can these all be in the same room. Any clarification would be greatly appreciated?

Posted By John Webster
There is often a lot of confusion about this. Where a number of WCs is required it is traditionally more economical to provide separate men's & women's. That way, part of the men's requirement can be met with a line of urinals. WCs can be separated by relatively flimsy partitions with big gaps at the top and bottom (only one ventilator needed) and hand-wash basins can be grouped to cut down on plumbing.

Where the WC is in a self contained, lockable room with its own hand washing facilities, and the outer door opens onto a general circulation area etc., then those rooms can be used by either sex. There is no reason at all to segregate. Then the total number of WCs is simply equated to the total number of employees.

This sort of problem also often comes up with respect to provision of toilets for disabled people (nearly caught me out there, Adam), with premises trying to provide separate male, female and disabled loos (as if disabled people were a species apart). So often the best, and easiest solution for smaller premises is the requisite total number of individual unisex loos, some or all fitted out for use by disabled people and used by all.