A group of factory workers who have to clock off and have deductions made from their pay every time they go to the toilet are taking their employer to an employment tribunal, according to the Daily Mail website.
Dunbia (which had a turnover of £460 million in 2009, says the Belfast Telegraph website) has a food-processing plant in Sawley, Lancashire that employs mostly low-paid workers. The plant operates a blanket policy requiring the workforce to clock out and back in again when going to the toilet, although the employer says that employees are paid an additional allowance to cover this.
The 86 workers are expected to bring a joint claim for unlawful deductions from wages. Other issues that could arise in this context include:
- the deductions leading to workers' pay falling below the national minimum wage;
- a pregnant worker claiming that she is treated unfavourably because she may have to take increased toilet breaks and be deducted pay because of this;
- a disabled worker (for example an employee with incontinence or on certain medication) claiming disability discrimination because he or she is required to take more toilet breaks and loses pay because of this; and
- breaches of basic human rights;
- health and safety issues through loss of concentration and stress from employees who need to go to the toilet.
In March 2010, the TUC highlighted the issue of toilet breaks in its report Give us a (Loo) break! (Microsoft Word format, 105K) (on the TUC website). The report advocates "the need for a specific legal right to use toilets in the employer's time without a deduction in pay, and without any harassment".
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