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SBH  
#1 Posted : 08 June 2017 07:42:16(UTC)
Rank: Super forum user
SBH

One of our staff is complaining that the office they work in is not compliant with reg 10 of the welfare regs, as it has 5 persons and the space available is 53 cubic metres therefore falls short of 11 cubic metres per person. Furniture has been taken into account

Strangely a comment made by a manager was - move the ceiling up 3cm and the room would be compliant. However this would be a costly exercise.

The staff member is quite militant so any advice on how ro deal with this issue would be very much appreciated

SBH

Invictus  
#2 Posted : 08 June 2017 07:52:22(UTC)
Rank: Super forum user
Invictus

You don't measure anything above 6ft anyway and this is taken into account when they talk about the 11 cubic metres.

I think you would be hard pressed to find anywhere in an old building that all employees have 11 cubic metres. It may help if you showed what a 11 cubic meters x 5 looked like in reality.

hopeful  
#3 Posted : 08 June 2017 10:19:38(UTC)
Rank: Forum user
hopeful

For me it would be about understanding what the actual issue is. I cannot believe that any enforcement agency would be interested in such a situation unless specific risks were occuring because of the lack of space. I would also try and understand why they were militant, in my experience there are often underlying reasons behind this such as never being listened to, ignoring of risks by management, brushing things under the carpet (sometimes in other organisations) or similar - it may be an opportunity to build a relationship with the person as you get to understand what the issues are and what led them down this road - most people I know wouldnt bother unless they were concerned about noise, ergonomics etc.

thanks 1 user thanked hopeful for this useful post.
Martin Fieldingt on 12/06/2017(UTC)
Brian Campbell  
#4 Posted : 10 June 2017 20:18:13(UTC)
Rank: Forum user
Brian Campbell

http://www.hse.gov.uk/pUbns/priced/l24.pdf

Have a read at section 10 and make of that what you want.  Its a tricky one but your employee could be right!!  The opening sentence "In most workplaces 11 cubic metres (11 m3) of space per person should be taken as a minimum".  The word MOST could be your only argument!!!

aud  
#5 Posted : 11 June 2017 11:46:41(UTC)
Rank: Super forum user
aud

Not sure what "furniture has been taken into account" means. Excluded or included?

johnmurray  
#6 Posted : 12 June 2017 09:20:39(UTC)
Rank: Super forum user
johnmurray

Originally Posted by: SBH Go to Quoted Post
One of our staff is complaining that the office they work in is not compliant with reg 10 of the welfare regs,as ithas 5 persons and the space available is 53 cubic metres therefore falls short of 11 cubic metres per person. Furniture has been taken into account Strangely a comment made by a manager was -move the ceiling up 3cm and the room would be compliant. However this would be a costly exercise. The staff member is quite militant so any advice on how ro deal with this issue would be very much appreciated SBH
Looks like your staff member is right. Dealing with it? Less staff, or bigger room! Maybe...one or more of the other staff have "personal hygiene" problems? Or just strong perfume.... http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/indg244.pdf
JYoung  
#7 Posted : 13 June 2017 10:33:08(UTC)
Rank: Forum user
JYoung

Workrooms should have enough free space to allow people to get to and from workstations and to move within the room, with ease. The number of people who may work in any particular room at any one time will depend not only on the size of the room, but on the space taken up by furniture, fittings, equipment, and on the layout of the room. Workrooms, except those where people only work for short periods, should be of sufficient height (from floor to ceiling) over most of the room to enable safe access to workstations. In older buildings with obstructions such as low beams the obstruction should be clearly marked.

 The total volume of the room, when empty, divided by the number of people normally working in it should be at least 11 cubic metres. In making this calculation a room or part of a room which is more than 3.0m high should be counted as 3.0m high. The figure of 11 cubic metres per person is a minimum and may be insufficient if, for example, much of the room is taken up by furniture etc.

 The figure of 11 cubic metres does not apply to: retail sales kiosks, attendants' shelters, machine control cabs or similar small structures, where space is necessarily limited; or rooms being used for lectures, meetings and similar purposes.

 In a typical room, where the ceiling is 2.4m high, a floor area of 4.6m2 (for example 2.0 x 2.3m) will be needed to provide a space of 11 cubic metres. Where the ceiling is 3.0m high or higher the minimum floor area will be 3.7m2 (for example 2.0 x 1.85m). (These floor areas are only for illustrative purposes and are approximate).

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