Welfare Facilities For Construction Sites

Minimum welfare facilities required for construction sites

Every worker of a construction site is entitled to welfare facilities provided by his employer. Welfare is a basic necessity for workers and required by the law. The employer should consider at the planning and preparation phases the availability of welfare facilities, their location on site and how they will be maintained. 

Sufficient and well-maintained facilities can have a desirable benefit on health and wellbeing of workers. Good facilities can also help prevent a number of occupational diseases (such as hepatisis A, cholera and dermatitis).

Toilets

1 Suitable and sufficient toilets must be provided or made available at readily accessible places.

2 Toilets must be arranged as follows¹ :

(a) where 25 males or less: one water closet or latrine and four feet of urinal;
(b) where more than 25 males but less than 50: two water closets or latrines and eight feet of urinal;
(c) where more than 50 males but less than 100: three water closets or latrines and 13 feet of urinal;
(d) where more than 100 males: three water closets or latrines and 13 feet of urinal and an additional water closet or latrine and additional four feet of urinal are provided for every 50 males in excess;
(e) where 20 females or less: one water closet;
(f) where more than 20 females: one water closet and one additional water closet is provided for every 20 females in excess.

If this is not practical, a ratio of one toilet to 7 persons is recommended².

3 Closets and urinals in the interior of buildings must be of the water-flush type³.

4 Where conditions require, running water, connected to mains water and drainage systems, must be provided for every toilet facility⁴.

5 Toilets facilities must not communicate directly with the actual workplace but must open only on to corridors, halls, landings or courtyards⁵.

6 So far as is reasonably practicable, rooms containing toilets must be adequately ventilated and lit⁶ .

7 So far as is reasonably practicable, toilets and the rooms containing them must be kept in a clean and orderly condition.

8 Separate rooms containing toilets must be provided for men and women⁷.

 

Washing facilities

9 Suitable and sufficient washing facilities, including showers if required by the nature of the work or for health reasons, must, so far as is reasonably practicable, be provided or made available at readily accessible places.

10 Washing facility must comprise at least one wash-hand basin or equivalent trough of ample size, having a smooth impervious surface and fitted with a waste pipe and plug for every 20 or part of 20 persons employed at any one time⁸.

11 Washing facilities must be provided –

(a) in the immediate vicinity of every toilet, whether or not also provided elsewhere; and
(b) in the vicinity of any changing rooms required by paragraphs 21 to 25, whether or not provided elsewhere.

12 Washing facilities must include –

(a) a supply of clean water (which must be running water so far as is reasonably practicable);
(b) soap or other suitable means of cleaning; and
(c) towels or other suitable means of drying⁹.

13 The floors at all washing facilities must be made of impervious material and shall be properly graded for effective drainage¹⁰.

14 Rooms containing washing facilities must be sufficiently ventilated and lit.

15 Washing facilities and the rooms containing them must be kept in a clean and orderly condition.

16 Subject to sub-paragraph 17, separate washing facilities must be provided for men and women, except where they are provided in a room the door of which is capable of being secured from inside and the facilities in each room are intended to be used by only one person at a time.

17 Sub-paragraph 16 does not apply to facilities which are provided for washing hands, forearms and the face only.

 

Drinking water

18 An adequate supply of clean, safe and wholesome drinking water must be provided or made available at readily accessible and suitable places and must be from a piped main or some other source approved by the Inspector¹¹.

19 Where necessary for reasons of safety and health (for example, if the supply of drinking water other than the piped supply), every supply of drinking water must be conspicuously marked by an appropriate sign to indicate that the water is safe for drinking and such supply be renewed daily and all necessary precautions taken to preserve the water and vessels from contamination¹².

20 Where a supply of drinking water is provided, a sufficient cups or other drinking vessels must also be provided, unless the supply of drinking water is in a jet from which a person can drink easily. The use of common drinking cups must be prohibited¹³.

 

Changing rooms and lockers

21 Suitable and sufficient changing rooms must be provided or made available at readily accessible places if a worker –

(a) has to wear special clothing (due to exposure to contamination with poisonous, infectious, irritating or radioactive substances) for the purposes of construction work¹⁴ ; and
(b) cannot, for reasons of health or propriety, be expected to change elsewhere.

22 Where necessary for reasons of propriety, there must be separate changing rooms for, or separate use of rooms by, men and women.

23 No such contaminated special clothing shall be worn in premises or areas where meals are being taken¹⁵.

24 Changing rooms must –

(a) be provided with seating; and
(b) include, where necessary, facilities to enable a person to wash and dry any special clothing and any personal clothing or effects¹⁶.

25 Suitable and sufficient facilities must, where necessary, be provided or made available at readily accessible places to enable persons to lock away –

(a) any special clothing which is not taken home;
(b) their own clothing which is not worn during working hours¹⁷; and
(c) their personal effects.

 

Facilities for rest

26 Suitable and sufficient rest rooms or rest areas must be provided or made available at readily accessible places.

27 Rest rooms and rest areas must –

(a) be equipped with an adequate number of tables and adequate seating with backs for the number of persons at work likely to use them at any one time;
(b) where necessary, include suitable facilities for any woman at work who is pregnant or who is a nursing mother to rest lying down;
(c) include suitable arrangements to ensure that meals can be prepared and eaten;
(d) include the means for boiling water; and
(e) be maintained at an appropriate temperature.