employee's rights to drinking water

[alexjlight]

How far does the obligation of an employer go to provide drinking water, and are they allowed to refuse you access to it for any reason?

I have always been free to have it as i please in my previous jobs, as well as in my current employment (general customer assistant in a small but very busy supermarket) . However. Recently, a couple of new managers do not seem to respect my wishes to quench my thirst as I am sure they should. That is not to say I take liberties by stopping what i am doing to go and get a cup of water every 20 minutes, but my work involves talking to a LOT of people very quickly, so every couple of hours, maybe even once an hour if the weather is hot, i really feel like i have to go for a quick sip.

after a flat out working period of two and a half hours today, I was told (rather aggressively) that "only breaks should be used to drink water, it's unfair on all the other employees" but breaks can commonly be three or four hours apart with not even a few minutes respite from speaking constantly and generally working fast in that time.

slightly bewildered, I went ahead and got the water anyway, claiming that it was unfair to say that to me.

I would like to know if an employers duty to provide water is limited to or includes the time that the employee is being paid to work.

I would also like links to evidence that i can use against this aggressive boss, as i'm sure the situation will occur again.

Thanks in advance,

[pjm007]

They can't stop you from drinking water as much as they can't stop you from using the toilet. Its a breach of human rights.

[acw]

I agree!  Are you prevented from having water on the customer service desk?  I work in catering to supplement my degree and although we're not allowed to drink in front of customers, we are always told just to duck behind the bar or nip into the store room to drink.  Being on your feet is thirsty work and you cannot be denied what pjm rightly described as a basic human right.  If you feel your employer needs this clarified, perhaps your local CAB could provide a leaflet for you to hand on to them. 

 

If they threaten to dismiss or demote you because of your requests for water, this is totally illegal and don't stand for it.  You cannot be made to suffer for enforcing your legal rights!

 

Make a stand! :-)  Now I'm off to get a glass of water...

[alexjlight]

thanks for input pjm, acw.

Like i say, it was always considered fine to have a glass of water behind the desk, as long as you don't drink it in front of customers.

ACW:
The new site manager has ruled that drinks are no longer allowed in any customer areas. I was on my way to the storeroom when my duty manager said that every employee in the world (of that company) has to spend their time between breaks without any water. I told her that I couldn't accept that, on the basis that i have personally seen EVERY employee who works at the store drinking water whilst being paid to work.

I very much doubt it would get to the stage where i could be dismissed or demoted over something like this, It just annoyed me that i would be spoken to in such an oppressive manner.

Please could you explain a little further what a CAB is, and where to contact one?

thanks again

[acw]

CAB = Citizens' Advice Bureau.  Look them up in your Yellow Pages, local phone book, or on google.  I agree that your boss was unecessarily horrible to you - something to remember if this does go further.  Good luck!

[alexjlight]

edit- found out about local CAB services, just waiting for them to get back to me.

[acw]

Excellent!  Good luck!  Please don't forget to post the outcome on here so that this thread is of use to people looking for answers in an answer bank! :-)

[THECORBYLOON]

ACAS will give you confidential advice on employment legislation & rights. Their 'phone no is 08457 47 47 47.
I've spoken to them in the past and they've always been helpful.

Good luck!

 

[flaming]

Reading that it makes me glad I am retired from the world of work.  People are reduced to the status of battery hens or other cruelly treated factory farmed animals.  In fact that's what we are, nice little earners for the multi-nationals, they getting as much as they can for as little in return as possible.  How about other workers at your place (which might be a call-centre of some sort) - they must get dry too?  A mass of people in the office standing up to the bully managers could be a first step.  They wouldn't want any MASS trouble on their watch, surely as getting people's backs up isn't good management.  ACAS should help.  

I  did some hours of temp. waitressing for �5 an hour  in recent years.  I had to give it up before it did for me!  So much is expected from people nowadays; girls a lot younger than I were wilting but they did the same work full-time and I found out they were getting less per hour than I was. That was a cost-cutting concession.  Another one I tried was cost-cutting for a French company, presumably for investors mainly in France?  It's a disgrace, more especially under a Labour government. 

[alexjlight]

thanks, thecorbyloo. I'll give that a try.

flaming, that was exactly what it felt like. It bothers me a lot when people don't act like people, but something programmed to perform a set of actions.

The manager in question is not (or does not seem) to be like this with everyone, but she is new in her job (having transferred from a different branch) and I don't particularly want to start a warzone. But I agree that she should be shown that her take on management is not a good one if she desires respect from her employees.
Perhaps the people in her previous store did not think for themselves and therefore she had to dictate and control every aspect of their days at work.

[twiglet4frog]

Not so much advice but recently NIKE the sports manufacturer were condemned and thus admited that they were causing human rights abuses in china and thailand by not providing adequate water supply (and a few other things like low pay and long overtime hours) and are now being considered for legal action for not providing adequate refreshment. If a large manufacturer in a third world country can be told off for not providing water as and when the employee requires it then whatever firm u work for is surely in breach of human rights. citizens advice or maybe health and safety website about employees rights to basic working requirements might help find it out