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As far as I can tell there is no legislation banning eating at your workstation, per se. It is banned in our factory due to the chemicals used down there. Therefore we do have a separate canteen in whcih people can go and eat. However, the office staff tend to take lunch at their desks, mostly so that they can browse Facebook etc. Am I right that we don't have to enforce the canteen for them? We just have to supply one should they wish to use it.
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As far as I am aware there is no legislation as you say, however it is banned in our office after some people were making a mess and leaving food stains on the desk and dropped food on the floor. This led to pest infestation, mice and flies, which subsequently had to be dealt with. Drinks and small snacks however, are allowed! Depends if you have mucky eaters.
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 1 user thanked SJP for this useful post.
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You are right there is no legislation or guidance relating to office workers not eating at their desks (I am about to do it myself!) but you might need to have a local rule in place to protect your IT equipment from spillages, crumbs etc. In addition there are social factors which might come into play such as people who bring smelly food to work. In one of our offices we had to put in a rule that there was to be no eating at desks because there were a couple of people who brought really smelly food to work that others found unpleasant. So basically its up to you, if you don't want people eating at their desks then tell them to use the canteen but that is your rule and not a legal requirement.
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1 user thanked Hsquared14 for this useful post.
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Eating at workstations is one of those cultural issues. It is of course banned if there is risk of exposure to chemical or biological agents in a lab setting for example. I’d seriously think about banning it in engineering workshops as well. In focus it is not really a matter of Health and Safety but more to do with keeping the local environment clean. If you have canteen which is ok and supplies reasonably priced food and people have somewhere to eat their own sandwiches a ban probably makes sense but in many workplaces there is nowhere for people to eat their packs-ups and the like other than their desk. In some places eating at your desk is a sign of commitment to the job, as opposed to going off site to find somewhere to eat.
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Rank: Super forum user 
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Unfortunately eating at the desk contributes to poor mental and physical health at work especially for PC users - you aren't getting up and moving to take a screen break and like pavlov's dog every time the phone rings or an email alert pop's up - so have you necessarily taken your specified break.
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4 users thanked Roundtuit for this useful post.
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Unfortunately eating at the desk contributes to poor mental and physical health at work especially for PC users - you aren't getting up and moving to take a screen break and like pavlov's dog every time the phone rings or an email alert pop's up - so have you necessarily taken your specified break.
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4 users thanked Roundtuit for this useful post.
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When hot-desking I don't mind so much if a colleague next to me eats sandwiches at their desk but I don't like it when they're eating a hot meal such as fish & chips!
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Rank: Super forum user 
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Re the last sentence regarding canteens : "We just have to supply one should they wish to use it" has no legal standing under the Workplace Regs. as the vast majority of organisations do not have & cannot support such facilities.
As for eating at your workplace, again as previously stated, there is no legal ban as long as there is a clean area to put your food on.
At a previous employer, eating at your desk was considered ok as long as the food was "non aromatic"!!
However, I fully agree with Roundtuit that this should be discouraged so that employees can get a full break from work & if possible out of and away from the building.
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Rank: Super forum user
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Given the current push on mental health why would we condone anyone chained to their workstation for their full working day?
GOOD managers encourage employees to take breaks, GOOD managers appreciate working hours, GOOD managers appreciate what constitutes the truly exceptional circumstances that mean on rare occasions the former may not apply.
BAD managers expect you to arrive before they do, BAD managers expect you to leave after they do, BAD managers expect you to work through breaks, BAD managers consider every day as exceptional.
From personal experience such BAD managers have limited time management skills, fail to plan and blame everyone else for their failures
Thankfully I work for an enlightened manager who even with our company policy on smoking will suggest I take 5 on occassion
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4 users thanked Roundtuit for this useful post.
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Given the current push on mental health why would we condone anyone chained to their workstation for their full working day?
GOOD managers encourage employees to take breaks, GOOD managers appreciate working hours, GOOD managers appreciate what constitutes the truly exceptional circumstances that mean on rare occasions the former may not apply.
BAD managers expect you to arrive before they do, BAD managers expect you to leave after they do, BAD managers expect you to work through breaks, BAD managers consider every day as exceptional.
From personal experience such BAD managers have limited time management skills, fail to plan and blame everyone else for their failures
Thankfully I work for an enlightened manager who even with our company policy on smoking will suggest I take 5 on occassion
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4 users thanked Roundtuit for this useful post.
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Originally Posted by: Roundtuit  Given the current push on mental health why would we condone anyone chained to their workstation for their full working day?
Why the assumption that allowing staff to eat at their desk is the same thing as mandating that they be chained to their desk all day?
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1 user thanked achrn for this useful post.
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Roundtoit has this IMO.
It's healthy to take a break away from your desk
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2 users thanked Clark34486 for this useful post.
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I guess this is one of those subjects that are subject to interpretation depending on whom you ask, and the responses here go to prove that.
Personally, I'm not a proponent of dining al desko, with the exception of snacks (or a drink). Most of the reasons have already been pointed out - spillage, bacteria yada yada. Most importantly for me, I think it's an encroachment on your co-workers' personal space, and this especially applies in the case of hot lunches. Sure, you're free to eat, but the last thing I need as your colleague is to take in all the smells from your bowl. It might smell delicious, but it's downright distracting.
Apparently, it also increases your stress levels and crushes your creativity!: https://www.huffpost.com...-less-creative_n_3696608
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Rank: Super forum user 
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You could try asking them all to turn their keyboard upside down to see what falls out.
Also I heard recently the most hazardous equipment in an office is the Mouse due to handling without washing hands before using.
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Originally Posted by: firesafety101 You could try asking them all to turn their keyboard upside down to see what falls out.
Also I heard recently the most hazardous equipment in an office is the Mouse due to handling without washing hands before using.
They all know what's in their keyboards. We make sure they clean them out regularly.
I think I may need to add context. Our office is 50m x 10m x 3m high. We have 15 people in this office, it is far from a tight fit. When they take breaks their phome is off and they ensure they don't work, often to the point of rudeness (I have 1 minute left, go away!). We don't encourage them to take breaks at their desk, and in fact some of us go home, or pop out to grab a bite. It is the usual problem though, office and factory staff never mix. I have always worked in manufacturing and the "us and them" culture has always been endemic. The canteen is seen as the factory's, even when we have specifically stated it is for everybody's use.
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Why the assumption that allowing staff to eat at their desk is the same thing as mandating that they be chained to their desk all day? No assumption - there are unfortunately many employers who attempt to get away with the absolute legal minimum. So a 20 minute break where the employee works longer than six hours and spends their "lunch" at the desk is as stated.
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2 users thanked Roundtuit for this useful post.
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Why the assumption that allowing staff to eat at their desk is the same thing as mandating that they be chained to their desk all day? No assumption - there are unfortunately many employers who attempt to get away with the absolute legal minimum. So a 20 minute break where the employee works longer than six hours and spends their "lunch" at the desk is as stated.
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2 users thanked Roundtuit for this useful post.
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Well I've been standing up in a lab with not so much as a cup of tea (because it's a lab) most of the morning, and I feel perfectly justified in having my sandwich at my desk just now as I browse the forums!
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2 users thanked Kate for this useful post.
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Originally Posted by: firesafety101 You could try asking them all to turn their keyboard upside down to see what falls out.
Also I heard recently the most hazardous equipment in an office is the Mouse due to handling without washing hands before using.
In my office the main thing falling out would be the keys...
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1 user thanked Connor35037 for this useful post.
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Originally Posted by: Kate Well I've been standing up in a lab with not so much as a cup of tea (because it's a lab) most of the morning, and I feel perfectly justified in having my sandwich at my desk just now as I browse the forums!
Of course if you worked in CSI:Cleckheaton let's say, you would always be eating doughnuts and drinking coffee because they don't care about elf and safety or contaminating their work; they just want the job done.
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