toilet breaks and working on factory line

dd842011

I am working on a factory line and when i have go to the toilet i have to ask some one who is not on the line to get some body to leave me off, But sometimes when i ask they say there is nobody there to take my place so i have to hold on and last friday morning this happened to me i had to wait at least 30mins to be told nobody can take my place so the guy beside me had to do my job and his own which is very hard because the line moves fast while i rushed off , then later that evening again there was a girl going around leaving people on the line off to the toilet and when she came to me she said she couldnt leave me go as she had to go off to do a different job so i asked three more people about six times could they get some one to leave me go none could get any and i had to wait over one hour to go till work was finished i had to run and nearly wet myself very embarrassing for me, does any one know what i should do as i dont want to loose my job.

tenchi-fan

Try not to drink so much water and try to time your bathroom breaks around work breaks. If you believe you have a problem visit your gp

Sorry I can't give better advice. I worked in a callcentre before and when there was a queue on the line the system would generate a report of people who were "not available" as opposed to "busy". So similar issues there.

thefinalstage

dd842011 wrote: »

I am working on a factory line and when i have go to the toilet i have to ask some one who is not on the line to get some body to leave me off, But sometimes when i ask they say there is nobody there to take my place so i have to hold on and last friday morning this happened to me i had to wait at least 30mins to be told nobody can take my place so the guy beside me had to do my job and his own which is very hard because the line moves fast while i rushed off , then later that evening again there was a girl going around leaving people on the line off to the toilet and when she came to me she said she couldnt leave me go as she had to go off to do a different job so i asked three more people about six times could they get some one to leave me go none could get any and i had to wait over one hour to go till work was finished i had to run and nearly wet myself very embarrassing for me, does any one know what i should do as i dont want to loose my job.

You are entitled to bathroom breaks. It's illegal to prevent you.

Shelflife

poisonedstream wrote: »

You are entitled to bathroom breaks. It's illegal to prevent you.

Have you a link for this statement? You are entitled to a 15min break if you work over 41/2 hours. go to the bathroom before work , on your break and when you finish.

as techi fan said try not to drink so much , or visit your gp.

theres no legal entitlement to a toilet break.

frulewis

going to the toilet is a natural human right for god's sake if you have to go you have to go..

kylith

Purposfully dehydrating yourself is not a good thing to be doing. Check with the Employment Rights Agency what your rights are in this situation, they're very helpful.

seamus

frulewis wrote: »

going to the toilet is a natural human right for god's sake if you have to go you have to go..

Actually it would fall under the umbrella of health & safety, where a employee who is forced to hold onto their waste for longer than is reasonable could be putting their health at risk. Mental health too, the shame of soiling oneself in work...

There is still however, no legal right to discretionary toilet break. Where an employee needs to go to the toilet in an emergency, then a refusal or disciplining by an employer could land that employer in trouble if the employee were to make a complaint to the HSA.

That said, if an employee is taking frequent bathroom breaks above a reasonable level, an employer would have a right to seek to reassign the employee to somewhere that such frequent breaks would be acceptable, or insist that the employee see a doctor, if the employee insists that they actually do need to continually pee.

It's not a matter that employees are entitled to just go to the toilet whenever they feel the need. The business's requirements need to be taken into account too.

In the OP's case, both incidents appeared to happen in a single day, so it may have been a once-off where they drank too much. In future I would advise if you have an urgent need to go that you speak up for yourself and don't be afraid to stress the urgency of it. If you tell them you really need to go, nobody is going to force you to endure it. In the case of the evening break, whatever job the relief person "had to go off to do" could have waited five minutes for you to pee, if you had stressed how badly you needed to go.

As a teenager I worked on checkouts, where a similar system was in place where a supervisor would relieve each person for 5 minutes to go to the loo. Those who stated beforehand that they were in urgent need, were always allowed to go first.

Xcellor

As long as you are not taking the piss with toilet breaks I can't see too many employers having a problem...

Jaysoose

tenchi-fan wrote: »

Try not to drink so much water and try to time your bathroom breaks around work breaks. If you believe you have a problem visit your gp

Sorry I can't give better advice. I worked in a callcentre before and when there was a queue on the line the system would generate a report of people who were "not available" as opposed to "busy". So similar issues there.

Popssibly the worst advice i have seen on boards..dehydration is your solution to the op's issue.

People are entitled to go to the bathroom.

cladda1112

seamus wrote: »

Actually it would fall under the umbrella of health & safety, where a employee who is forced to hold onto their waste for longer than is reasonable could be putting their health at risk. Mental health too, the shame of soiling oneself in work...

There is still however, no legal right to discretionary toilet break. Where an employee needs to go to the toilet in an emergency, then a refusal or disciplining by an employer could land that employer in trouble if the employee were to make a complaint to the HSA.

That said, if an employee is taking frequent bathroom breaks above a reasonable level, an employer would have a right to seek to reassign the employee to somewhere that such frequent breaks would be acceptable, or insist that the employee see a doctor, if the employee insists that they actually do need to continually pee.

It's not a matter that employees are entitled to just go to the toilet whenever they feel the need. The business's requirements need to be taken into account too.

In the OP's case, both incidents appeared to happen in a single day, so it may have been a once-off where they drank too much. In future I would advise if you have an urgent need to go that you speak up for yourself and don't be afraid to stress the urgency of it. If you tell them you really need to go, nobody is going to force you to endure it. In the case of the evening break, whatever job the relief person "had to go off to do" could have waited five minutes for you to pee, if you had stressed how badly you needed to go.

As a teenager I worked on checkouts, where a similar system was in place where a supervisor would relieve each person for 5 minutes to go to the loo. Those who stated beforehand that they were in urgent need, were always allowed to go first.

I totaly agree with you. I worked in factorys for years and i know exactly the situation. Was on a line to and always on about counts etc. But if you let them they will bully you. dd842011 You must get a back bone and stand up for yourself. If you need the toilet you need the toilet...go. They can not fire you for going. And anyone that tells dif is from another planet. Think of your health in later years as this could cause problems later if you keep it for a long time. They wont give a monkeys about you then when you have kidney problems. Please go to the toilet if you have to they can not stop you.

Lanaier

tenchi-fan wrote: »

Try not to drink so much water and try to time your bathroom breaks around work breaks. If you believe you have a problem visit your gp

Not to distract too much from the topic but for gods sake OP don't follow this advice.
Most people are already in a constant state of semi-dehydration, even mostly healthy people could do with drinking more water.

Mrs OBumble

Lanaier wrote: »

Not to distract too much from the topic but for gods sake OP don't follow this advice.
Most people are already in a constant state of semi-dehydration, even mostly healthy people could do with drinking more water.

There is conflicting medical opinon on this topic, including some fairly highly regarded sources that say this claim is bogus.

There is also the small issue of consumption of water vs other fluids .. some Irish people require an extra-ordinary number of toilet visits as a result of these.

Only the OP and his/her doctor can determine whether fluid intake is sufficient or not.

Lanaier

JustMary wrote: »

There is conflicting medical opinon on this topic, including some fairly highly regarded sources that say this claim is bogus.

There is also the small issue of consumption of water vs other fluids .. some Irish people require an extra-ordinary number of toilet visits as a result of these.

Only the OP and his/her doctor can determine whether fluid intake is sufficient or not.

Indeed, but I think we might agree that amateur advice to drink more water would be favorable to amateur advice to drink less water.