British Toilet Association: Archived News from the British Toilet Association 

Unequal toilet provision

Have you ever wondered why you have to queue for a toilet, when men waltz in and out within a minute?

You may rightly believe that it is because women take longer to use the facilities (twice as long in fact) but were you aware that until now, women actually got fewer toilet facilities than men when buildings were designed?

This is because men get urinals as well as cubicles, it being forgotten that WCs are women’s urinals.

Fortunately the Building Regulations have just been amended to require toilet provision in accordance with a new British Standard, BS 6465-1:2006, which ensures that women never get fewer appliances than men, and this should make life better in new buildings. This is thanks to women in construction who noticed this anomaly and worked hard on the new standard, and fought to have it included in Building Regulations.

However, this standard will not apply to workplace toilets, where it was decided that the Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations guidance should apply. This still gives women far fewer appliances than men, to the extent that 50 women have fewer facilities than 30 men.

We are still campaigning to get this changed, and hopefully toilet provision will be genuinely equal when the guidance to the Workplace Regulations is amended at the end of this year.

If you have strong feelings that women should have equal toilet provision in offices and other workplaces, please lobby the Health and Safety Executive, who control these regulations, or any other people or organisations you feel can help.

Further information is available from Michelle Barkley at mbarkley@chapmantaylor.com.

8 April 2010