Minimum welfare facilities required at construction sites

Every worker on a construction site is entitled to welfare facilities provided by his/her employer. Welfare is a basic need for workers and is a legal requirement. Employers should consider during the planning and preparation phase the availability of welfare facilities, their location on the construction site and how these facilities are maintained.

Adequate and well-maintained facilities can provide tangible benefits to the health and well-being of workers. Good facilities can also help prevent some occupational diseases (such as hepatitis A, cholera and dermatitis).

Toilet

1. Suitable and sufficient toilets must be provided or usable in easily accessible places.
2. Toilets must be provided as follows:¹⁸:
   • (a) if 25 males or less: one bathroom or toilet and four urinals;
   • (b) if more than 25 males but less than 50 persons: two bathrooms or toilets and eight urinals;
   • (c) if more than 50 males but less than 100: three bathrooms or toilets and 13 feet of urinals;
   • (d) if more than 100 men: three bathrooms or toilets and 13 feet of urinal space and an additional bathroom or toilet and an additional four feet of urinal space shall be provided for every additional 50 persons;
   • (e) if 20 women or less: one bathroom;
   • (f) if more than 20 females: one bathroom and one additional bathroom shall be provided for every additional 20 females.

If this toilet is not practical, a ratio of one toilet to seven people is recommended.¹⁹.

3. Bathrooms and urinals in buildings must be of the water pump type.²⁰.
4. If circumstances require, running water, connected to the main water supply and drainage system, must be provided for each toilet room.²¹.
5. Toilets must not be directly connected to the actual workplace but must open only towards the corridor, foyer, landing or courtyard.²².
6. As far as is practical, the room containing the toilet must be adequately ventilated and illuminated with lights.²³.
7. As far as is practical, toilets and rooms with these facilities must always be clean and in order.
8. Separate rooms with toilets must be provided for men and women.²⁴.

Washing Facilities

9. Suitable and sufficient washing facilities, including showers if required by the type of work or for health reasons, must, as far as practicable, be provided or made available in easily accessible places.
10. Washing facilities must consist of at least one hand-washing sink or equivalent trough of suitable size, having a smooth, water-resistant surface and fitted with a drain and plug for every 20 or part of 20 persons employed at any one time.²⁵.
11. Washing facilities must be provided:
    • (a) near each toilet, whether or not it is also provided elsewhere; and
    • (b) near any changing room required in paragraphs 21 to 25, whether or not provided elsewhere.
12. Washing facilities must include:
    • (a) the supply of clean water must, as far as practicable, be running water;
    • (b) soap and other suitable washing methods; and
    • (c) a towel or other suitable means of drying the body²⁶.
13. Floors in all washing facilities must be made of waterproof material and should be properly sloped for effective drainage.²⁷.
14. Rooms with washing facilities must be adequately ventilated and illuminated with lights.
15. Washing facilities and rooms containing washing facilities must always be clean and in order.
16. Subject to subparagraph 17, separate washing facilities must be provided for men and women, unless they are provided in a room the door of which can be locked from the inside and the facilities in each room are for use by only one person at a time.
17. Subparagraph 16 does not apply to facilities provided for washing hands, arms and face only.

Drinking Water

18. A supply of clean, safe and ready-to-drink drinking water must be provided in an easily accessible and safe place and must be from a main piped source or some other source approved by the Inspector.²⁸.
19. Where necessary for safety and health reasons (for example, if the drinking water supply is other than a piped supply), each drinking water supply must be clearly marked using suitable signage to indicate that the water is safe to drink and that the supply is renewed daily and all necessary protective measures are taken to protect the water and containers from contamination.²⁹.
20. If drinking water is provided, sufficient cups or other drinking containers must also be provided, unless the drinking water supply is in the form of a fountain from which a person can easily drink. It is strictly forbidden to use the same cup³⁰.

Changing rooms and lockers

21. Suitable and sufficient changing rooms must be provided or available in an easily accessible location if employees:
    • (a) need to wear special clothing (due to exposure to toxic, infectious, irritating or radioactive contamination) for the purpose of construction work³¹and
    • (b) may not, for reasons of health or morality, change clothes elsewhere.
22. If necessary for ethical reasons, separate changing rooms must be provided for men and women, or separate rooms must be used by men and women.
23. Contaminated clothing must not be worn on the premises or in areas that are used as dining areas.³².
24. The changing room must:
    • (a) provided with seating; and
    • (b) including, if necessary, facilities to enable a person to wash and dry any special clothing and any clothing or personal effects³³.
25. Suitable and sufficient facilities must, where necessary, be provided or made available in easily accessible places to enable people to store:
    • (a) any special clothing that is not taken home;
    • (b) their own clothing not worn during working hours³⁴and
    • (c) their personal belongings.

Facilities for relaxation

26. Suitable and sufficient rest rooms or rest areas must be provided or available in easily accessible places.
27. The break room or break area must:
    • (a) equipped with a sufficient number of desks and sufficient seating for the number of working persons who may use them at any one time;
    • (b) if necessary, include appropriate facilities for rest for any working woman who is pregnant or breastfeeding;
    • (c) include appropriate arrangements to ensure that food can be prepared and consumed;
    • (d) includes a place for boiling water; and
    • (e) maintained at an appropriate temperature.