Ensuring that the level of hygiene in your office bathrooms is of the highest standard demonstrates that your business puts the health and safety of your visitors and your employees as a top priority.
With this in mind, it is essential that your office washroom hygiene is up to the right standards.
Inadequate office washroom hygiene facilities in an office can have a negative impact on employees’ happiness and productivity so it is therefore vital to the running of your business to maintain suitable amenities for all.
Office washroom hygiene that surpasses standards
A clean environment is not just a ‘nice-to-have’.
An employer has a duty of care to their staff in line with the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974.
They need to be committed to the health and wellbeing of all that enter their office premises.
According to The Health and Safety Executive (HSE), the regulatory body for health and safety in the UK, if you are an employer, you must be able to provide ‘suitable and sufficient sanitary conveniences’ for your employees whilst they’re working as well as potential visitors.
So knowing that, let’s explore the levels of expectation when you walk inside your office washroom.
3 conditions you should expect from your office washroom facilities
1. Correct facilities
First, there should be a set number of office washroom facilities (both wash basins and toilets) depending on how many people are in the office.
The HSE have provided a useful table on what is to be expected in your office for mixed facilities or men only.
Mixed facilities (or women only)
(Source: The Health and Safety Executive – https://www.hse.gov.uk/simple-health-safety/workplace-facilities/health-safety.htm)
Men Only
(Source: The Health and Safety Executive – https://www.hse.gov.uk/simple-health-safety/workplace-facilities/health-safety.htm)
The HSE urge employers to provide separate facilities for men and women but if that isn’t possible, there should be facilities that are able to securely lock.
Within the bathrooms, they should be well-lit and well-ventilated (to prevent any unpleasant smells or impurities that could be potentially harmful).
Ventilation is also key to avoid the humidity that often occurs in places like the washroom; the perfect environment for germs to breed.
The washbasins provided should have both running hot and cold water with enough space to wash both hands and forearms.
The facilities that are supplied should be regularly maintained, checked-on and kept in an ‘efficient’ state, providing the optimum level of office washroom hygiene.
If there is a fault that could potentially put staff at risk, the employer must act promptly to rectify the fault. Or they must take steps to provide an alternative option.
2. Enough supplies
There should be a suitable amount of provisions which include the supply of soap and a way to dry hands.
In an office with a high footfall, it might be worth noting that the supply of hands-free devices is preferable.
That could include: automatic flush for toilets, hands-free soap or hand-sanitiser dispensers.
Those that oversee the office washroom facilities must ensure that there is a regular supply of toilet paper and soap (or other washing agents).
These which can be provided from a washroom and office cleaning service such that provided by Swift Office Cleaning Services and will help you to keep on top of your office cleaning hygiene.
We also supply washroom facilities with paper towels, bin liners and air fresheners.
For female employees, there needs to be somewhere for them to dispose of their sanitary items. A service to remove the waste regularly is additionally required.
Swift Office Cleaning Services work with a specialist feminine hygiene services provider to support clients with their washroom cleaning service.
This includes provision of sanitary bins as well as regular and scheduled visits that dispose of the waste.
This is in line with The Environment Protection Act 1990 that places a ‘Duty of Care’ on businesses to ensure that any waste produced on the premises is managed safely up to the point of disposal.
3. Clean facilities
It’s vital to the health of staff and visitors that the washroom facilities have been cleaned regularly and effectively.
Responsible executives who oversee the operation of the facilities must ensure that this is the case.
It isn’t necessarily all about how the bathroom looks. It’s about preventing staff from getting sick from germs lurking in the washrooms.
The bacteria and viruses that are most often found inside a washroom are:
- streptococcus
- E. coli
- methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA)
- Salmonella
- shigella
- norovirus
These can all cause nasty illnesses.
Therefore, it is vital that the washroom facilities are cleaned to a high standard.
You should employ an office washroom cleaning service that you trust.
Your staff have a right to work in a safe and hygienic environment.
Swift Office Cleaning Services recognises this. Therefore, our washroom cleaning services include sanitising your washroom floor, all surfaces and facilities.
All our cleaning operatives have been fully trained to deliver our services with comprehensive COSHH Health and Safety Regulation training.
Find out more how Swift Office Cleaning Services can improve & maintain your office washroom facilities
At Swift Office Cleaning Services, we know how important it is to maintain a professional premises through washroom facilities cleaning. As part of our daily office cleans, we offer professional washroom cleaning in our package.
Find out more about washroom cleaning services
Speak to us about how we can help your business today.
Call us on 0203 405 8442 in London, or 01279 413 641 in Essex and Hertfordshire.