Loo Breaks for Postwomen?

[peshwaarinaan]

I know that this applies to males too but what are the official rules regarding loo breaks please?

My round is changing next week. I currently have a public toilet on my round but from next week there won't be one. I've been told to knock on someone's door which I'm really not happy with! I'm going to be out for 4-5 hours and there is no way I can last that long. I'm a female Postie.

Can anyone advise please?

[TrueBlueTerrier]

BY law, if there is no official "Welfare Stop" designated, then you are allowed to return to the office full stop.

If they refuse then get your equality officer at branch involved and follow Linda Roy on twitter she is a top champion on "female concerns" if you can forgive the expression.

If its a male manager thats refusing then demand to speak to a female manager, as there are other health issues involved. This may scare them enough to back off.

[Izzy]

The only solution is to drink less. I have milky porridge and coffee for breakfast and then no liquid until I finish my walk or on a hot day I have some water in the last hour or two of my walk. It is hard to do the indoor 6.30 - 9.30am without a tea or coffee but it is doable. I take an empty bottle on delivery (no weight) and then on hot days ask a customer for some tap water towards the end of the walk.

When I started 15 years ago I occasionally asked a customer. I felt very uncomfortable invading people's homes. After one unsavoury experience too many I decided on the above policy. On most days you won't be remotely near the dehydration that is a health issue. It's just hard to go without the mental boost of a hot drink during prep.

[TrueBlueTerrier]

How is drinking less going to stop women needing to visit the toilet. Its not just No 1 and No 2 for them, there is, to put it delicatley a 3rd biological reason, and no reduction of drinking is going to reduce that need.

Employers must by law provide solutions for sanitary matters, if that means identifying toilet locations, providing toilets, or allowing traveling time to use them, then they must do so.

[POSTMAN]

Should of been sorted in revisions,there is a lot of 'should ofs' in this game.

[greengiant]

BY law, if there is no official "Welfare Stop" designated, then you are allowed to return to the office full stop.

If they refuse then get your equality officer at branch involved and follow Linda Roy on twitter she is a top champion on "female concerns" if you can forgive the expression.

If its a male manager thats refusing then demand to speak to a female manager, as there are other health issues involved. This may scare them enough to back off.

Except if you are on a HCT walk, then it's an awfy long walk back to the office for a #1 or a #2, then back on to the round! Especially if the round takes a good 5 to 5 and a half hours on a good day...

[korky]

The only solution is to drink less. I have milky porridge and coffee for breakfast and then no liquid until I finish my walk or on a hot day I have some water in the last hour or two of my walk.

pretty sure everyone is different when it come to re-hydration
i drink a minimum of 1.5 litres on whilst out on duty regardless of weather, i also have bran/porridge/weetabix before work too,
toilets ? non on any of my loops but 1 open mon-fri on our 2nd loop another later on but hit & miss (more miss) if its open,
i just utilities the empty screen wash bottle

[fleecy]

we have to drive to the next park n loop duty for a loo stop half way round our delivery, its a community centre, we are both female in my van so it's a blessing in desguise not to have to drive all the way back to the office, I'm just waiting for the day we get dragged in the bosses office for being spotted off route

[Kings Norton]

I know that this applies to males too but what are the official rules regarding loo breaks please?

My round is changing next week. I currently have a public toilet on my round but from next week there won't be one. I've been told to knock on someone's door which I'm really not happy with! I'm going to be out for 4-5 hours and there is no way I can last that long. I'm a female Postie.

Can anyone advise please?

I worked with a female last year she wanted a toilet every minute of the day she used to drink two full bottles of water a day she spent more time drinking water than sorting her bags out, She had me on detours to Drs, Garages, offices,Schools, got sick of it in the end told here find somewhere where I'm not breaking off and going out of my way, fact off the matter was i could have done 5/6 packets or reggies while looking for somewhere for her. Its her problem now, like another post said "Drink less" wouldn't mind if she would help me at the end when i fell behind but she deliberately killed time. If she hurried up a bit she could be back at the office like a few of the other girls and finished.

[Izzy]

[Should of been sorted in revisions,there is a lot of 'should ofs' in this game.]

In my experience you're best to solve you're own problems in RM. on one of my duties the only loo stop is a lovely clean pub. It is a driving duty so could be designed to suit but has been planned with the pub as the third call!!! It should be approx 3/4 of the way thru'

[peshwaarinaan]

My round is a good 6 miles from the office. The female manager has told my partner to knock on someone's door or get me to ring the office if I need the loo. I'm on a temp contract so I'm hardly likely to be expecting someone to do a 12 mile round trip to take me to the loo and labelled as a troublemaker .

[bustedflush]

Should of been sorted in revisions,there is a lot of 'should ofs' in this game.

There shouldn't be any 'should ofs' but maybe a few 'should have's'.

Back on track, I cannot see how people on a hot day can go a whole walk without a drink of water. I have drunk 2 litres on some days and still not even needed a gipsy's when I got back to the DO. If people are afraid to drink because of the need for the bog it will be a matter of time before we have casualties from dehydration, which is serious. I have worked with a couple of runners who get round so quick they don't even have a drink, and I keep asking them 'how?'

And it's not as easy for females to have a quick disguised one as it is for a man.

[Budfrog]

Loo Breaks form part of the 'Personal Needs' element of the Relaxation Allowance which forms part of the workload for every OPG job in Royal Mail

Attached is an example of a relaxation allowance table, similar to the one RM uses. RA will vary according to the type of job and how difficult it is but the Personal Needs are constant.



Women get 2% more than men for obvious reasons

[TrueBlueTerrier]

BY law, if there is no official "Welfare Stop" designated, then you are allowed to return to the office full stop.

If they refuse then get your equality officer at branch involved and follow Linda Roy on twitter she is a top champion on "female concerns" if you can forgive the expression.

If its a male manager thats refusing then demand to speak to a female manager, as there are other health issues involved. This may scare them enough to back off.

Except if you are on a HCT walk, then it's an awfy long walk back to the office for a #1 or a #2, then back on to the round! Especially if the round takes a good 5 to 5 and a half hours on a good day...

Then they should risk assess the duty properly and either:

1. Get a designated toilet stop where you can store the HCT securely (ie receptionist etc).

2. Put a plan in place that allows uplift and return of either you or the HCT or both. This could include using a 2nd postie to continue delivery/guard the HCT while your absent.

Its written into law, they must provide welfare facilities.

[TrueBlueTerrier]

What the law says

Under the Health and Safety at Work etc Act l974 employers must ensure the health, safety and welfare at work of all their employees, and maintain the workplace so that it is safe and without risks to health. They must also provide adequate facilities and arrangements for welfare at work.

In addition the Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992 require employers to

Provide suitable and sufficient sanitary conveniences and washing facilities at readily accessible places.