The RCT Source

Only if employees work during hours or at places where hot food cannot be obtained in, or reasonably near to, the workplace.

Unless the glazing is narrow panes up to 250mm wide between beading, it needs to be safety glazing in the following situations: 

• in doors and gates, and door and gate side panels, where any part of the glazing is at or below shoulder level;
• in windows, walls and partitions where any part of the glazing is at waist level or below (except in glasshouses where people are likely to be aware of the glazing and therefore avoid contact with it).

As a minimum, there should be 11 cubic metres per person.

To determine this, the volume of the room when empty is divided by the number of people located there, with the volume calculated by multiplying the length x the width x the height (with the height of any room over 3 metres high counted as 3 metres).

The figure of 11 cubic metres per person will not always give sufficient unoccupied space if, for example, much of the room is taken up by furniture.  Rooms may need to be larger or have fewer people located in them, depending on such factors as the contents and layout of the room and the nature of the works.

The figure of 11 cubic metres per person does not apply to such places as retail sales kiosks, attendants’ shelters, machine control cabs or similar where space is necessarily restricted, or to rooms being used for lectures, meetings or similar.

Yes - an adequate supply of wholesome drinking water must be provided for all persons in the workplace and should be readily accessible at suitable places, be conspicuously marked where necessary, not be installed where contamination is likely and, where reasonably practicable, not be installed in sanitary accommodation.

Unless the supply is by means of a drinking fountain, cups or beakers must be provided.

Suitable and sufficient facilities for changing clothing must be provided where people have to wear special clothing for work and for reasons of health or propriety cannot be expected to change in another room.

Any such changing facilities should be constructed and arranged to ensure the privacy of the user, be readily accessible from workrooms and, if provided, eating facilities, be provided with adequate seating and should contain, or communicate directly with, clothing accommodation and showers or baths if provided.

Suitable and sufficient facilities for resting and eating meals should be provided as follows:

• seats for people who have to stand to carry out their work;
• seats for use during breaks (in offices and similar, work seats in the work area will normally be suitable);
• if workers frequently have to leave the work area and have to wait to return, there should be a suitable rest area where they can wait;
• where workers regularly eat meals at work, and also where food would otherwise be contaminated, for example by dust (in offices and similar, work seats in the work area will normally be suitable);
• eating facilities should include a means for obtaining (e.g. vending machine, canteen) or preparing (e.g. electric kettle) a hot drink;
• where employees work during hours or at places where hot food cannot be obtained in, or reasonably near to, the workplace, a means for heating food should be provided (e.g. a microwave oven);
• facilities for eating or where food or drink is prepared should be maintained to a good hygiene standard;
• rest facilities should be provided for pregnant or nursing mothers and be conveniently situated in relation to sanitary facilities and, where necessary, include the facility to lie down.  

Suitable and sufficient accommodation must be provided for clothing which is not used at work, i.e. personal clothing, or for special clothing used at work which is not taken home, e.g. personal protective equipment.

The accommodation should enable it to be hung in a clean, warm, dry and well ventilated place where it can dry out during the course of a working day.

Measures should be taken to ensure the security of personal clothing, e.g. by the provision of lockable lockers.

For health, safety and welfare purposes, lighting should be:

• suitable and sufficient to prevent eyestrain and to enable people to move about safely, and also localised at individual workstations, where necessary, and at places of particular risk, such as pedestrian crossing points on vehicular traffic routes;
• so far as is reasonably practicable, be by natural light.

Furthermore, emergency lighting should be provided where sudden loss of light would present a serious risk.

Emergency lighting may also be required for means of escape in case of fire purposes. 

You should be provided with window poles or similar, or a stable platform or other safe means of access.

Currently there is no maximum workplace temperature stipulated.          

However, all reasonable steps should be taken to prevent uncomfortably high temperatures.