Posted By Crim
A major high street retailer provided lockers for employees to store their personal items.

The way it works is for the employee to put a £1.00 coin in the slot to release the key. At the end of shift the employee leaves the key behind to regain the coin.

Is this method in accordance with accepted health and safety practice?

Posted By DRB
I know it's still a bit early, well it is for me anyway, but I'm struggling to see what this has to do with health and safety!

Posted By Crim
Construction H S and welfare Regs, now included in CDM 07, somewhere for the site operatives to store their clothes etc.

Lots to do with health and safety!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Posted By Gff
From the Workplace Health Safety and Wefare Regulations

Accommodation for clothing
23.—(1) Suitable and sufficient accommodation shall be provided—
(a) for the clothing of any person at work which is not worn during working hours; and
(b) for special clothing which is worn by any person at work but which is not taken home.

(2) Without prejudice to the generality of paragraph (1), the accommodation mentioned in that paragraph shall not be suitable unless—
(a) where facilities to change clothing are required by regulation 24, it provides suitable security for the clothing mentioned in paragraph (1)(a);
(b) where necessary to avoid risks to health or damage to the clothing, it includes separate accommodation for clothing worn at work and for other clothing;
(c) so far as is reasonably practicable, it allows or includes facilities for drying clothing; and
(d) it is in a suitable location.


Facilities for changing clothing
24.—(1) Suitable and sufficient facilities shall be provided for any person at work in the workplace to change clothing in all cases where—
(a) the person has to wear special clothing for the purpose of work; and
(b) the person can not, for reasons of health or propriety, be expected to change in another room.

(2) Without prejudice to the generality of paragraph (1), the facilities mentioned in that paragraph shall not be suitable unless they include separate facilities for, or separate use of facilities by, men and women where necessary for reasons of propriety.

Sounds like what is in place is fine to me

Posted By Crim
I don't work for this high street retailer, but my son does, and he never has any money so is it right that he has to borrow £1.00 every time he gets to work. There is no mention of paying for the right to leave your stuff in a locker in h & s law? Only the mention in PPE Regs that employee shuld not be charged for PPE etc.

Why rely on charity anyway?

Thanks for all comments, it's very interesting to see other people's views.

By the way h & s in construction is part of the whole ball game and I don't think many construction site operatives would be too happy having to find a £1.00 coin to use a locker!

Posted By Alan Hoskins
Not actually paying to use Crim, just a loan really, they get it back. I do the same to use the trolley.

Are these shared by different staff then?

Otherwise just give them a key and charge them for a replacement if they lose it...

A

Posted By MT
"I don't work for this high street retailer, but my son does, and he never has any money so is it right that he has to borrow £1.00 every time he gets to work."

No, you're correct, it isn't right. He should probably have realised by now that he'll need a pound every time. Sorry - couldn't resist! But surely after turning up without a pound on a couple of occasions, he can make sure he has one in future?

"There is no mention of paying for the right to leave your stuff in a locker in h & s law? Only the mention in PPE Regs that employee shuld not be charged for PPE etc."

But he isn't paying for it - the money is returned.

"Why rely on charity anyway?"
I think Lillian was talking about keyrings which have a disc of metal the size of a pound coin attached, which you can use in lockers etc instead of an actual pound coin.