All views welcome, a retail store that does not have a customer toilet has one adapted toilet for use by wheelchair users in the staff area. They do not have any employees that need that facility as all are able bodied, now here's the point - the adapted toilet is used as a cleaners store room with polishing machine, mops, buckets etc. The toilet can still be used but there is no space alongside the toilet for a wheelchair.

Chris You say "a retail store that does not have a customer toilet" and then go onto an adapted toilet in the staff area so you have me a little confused. If there are no customer catering facilities (i.e. a café) I don't believe a "retail store" has any obligation to provide customer toilet facilities. So is the adapted toilet just for staff use? Do they actually need to supply such a facility until staff need it (you state that this is not the case at this time) in which case could it not be used as a storage room at this time, or are you suggesting that the Equality Act means they need an adapted toilet for customers even though there are no facilities for everyone else?

A thousand apologies for creating the confusion. The fact is the company always provides an adapted toilet in the staff area, not for customer use. They have a policy at present of not employing disabled people as they want all staff to do the same work. I am just making the point that there is an adapted toilet that is not accessible to wheelchair users at present due to the storage. What if? A wheelchair user is shopping in the store and feels the need to use a toilet, if it was an able bodied person I'm sure the store would allow such use. If it is a wheelchair user the store has to deny the request. Is this discrimination under the Equality Act? Is the company policy of not employing disabled discrimination under the equality Act? I hope this is not a little clearer? Thanks

Chris The problem of not employing any of the protected groups under the equality act is one of discrimination if the reason for non employment is by reason of their specific definition as a protected person eg by reason of age, race, religion, gender etc. If they are prepared to let able non staff persons use the staff toilets they are discriminating if this facility is not available to the disabled. The other alternative is to refuse all non staff the use of toilets Bob

Do you really believe that a department store would allow a customer, any customer, to use staff toilet facilities? And if that isn't enough, you use this most unlikely assumption to justify your expectation that they should allow chair users and thus fall under some obligation to make available adapted facilities. What world is this happening in? Not in this one, I'm certain. The first wild statement is simply bizarre, ignoring completely the need for store security that has characterised, regrettably but inescapably, the last 10 - 20 years or so. From that point onward, everything that you propose is surely flawed.

Glad it was not just me that was confused, thanks for the clarification, my thoughts now are: 1) Blanket ban on disabled people is against the equality act. They should make reasonable adjustments to allow the best candidate to undertake a task regardless of ability (sound much nicer than disability!) 2) They are not obliged to allow any customer to use the staff toilet able bodied or otherwise so if they refuse everyone not an issue. IF they allow ANY customer to use the toilets they must make facilities for all so they should stop using the adapted toilet for storage. 3) I suspect they will just not allow any customer to use the toilets "because its against elf and safety init!" Brian

I'm amazed that some stores remain that take such a helpful and considerate approach to customer care. It must be a rarity these days, and most definitely can surely exist only in the farthest corners of 'the sticks'. It would be foolhardy to expect that this is an attitude that should be expected elsewhere, and quite wrong to use it as an example that can be taken to justify an expectation that any and all shops must do likewise.