Pick your brains please

Former Member

I wanted to know if any of you knew the rules with regards to drinking (water etc) at work.

Work have banned us from having any sort of drinks on the checkouts. So basically on a tueday i only get one break which is 30 mins during my 8 hour shift ( i get a 15 min break also on other days as i work an extra 30 mins). Surely its gotta be illegal to only be allowed to have one drink per shift?

I felt ill today without drinking. I haven't been there long though, what am i meant to do?
Does anyone else think its wrong?

Former Member

Do they not have a water fountian there? When I worked in retail we were not allowed to carry water around or have it at the check out. Seems normal to me. Have you told them that it makes you ill not being able to drink freely? Maybe if you discuss it with them they will be a little lienent towards you.

Former Member

You arent meant to leave your checkout

Former Member

When I was in retail we worked 7.5 hours, plus we had an hour for lunch and two 15 minute tea breaks If it was a hot day or we had a cold etc we where alloed to take water down with us and even take cough sweets etc. I believe you really should be getting more then one 30 minute break.

Former Member

Not according to them i'm not> And if you ask to go to the pee(yes its like being back at school) its like you are asking for gold!

Former Member

Is it a large compay you work for say Next or Boots etc or is it a local independant shop?

Former Member

Its Asda Walmart, so a huge one.

Former Member

Oh my god . Isn't it like the law that if you work/study in a place with air-conditioning (which I assume you do), there has to be water available? That's why we have a water cooler machine thing in the IT suite at college...

I think you need to have words, chuck.

Former Member

YEs its got air con. They said they will re assess when the warm weather comes back wtf has that got to do with it in a air con building? You still sweat and get fucking hot!

Former Member

Tweety wrote:

YEs its got air con. They said they will re assess when the warm weather comes back wtf has that got to do with it in a air con building? You still sweat and get fucking hot!

If the air-con is on, you still have to have access to water. And if the heating is on, surely even more so, as you'll be losing bodily water through perspiration?

Seriously - words.

Former Member

All these avatars are confusing me.

Former Member

I am not the only pissed off about it, loads are but i think i am one of the only ones who has major probs with it. So much so i cant see me being able to stay there

Former Member

I would check this out, take a look in the law and works section of this site and with the citizen advice bureau. As when I was working in Boots, some days I would purely be on the main tills covering people off sick, but mainly I was in the photo lab and the same breaks and drink rules applied to everyone.

Former Member

I can't find the info on this one. There's a few things.

You're not entitled to more of a break. In fact, you're getting more than the legal minimum, which is 20 mins for 6 hour continuous period.

Your company is obliged to provide drinking water, but I cannot find any mention of a rule that says that you're allowed a break to get some water, or that you can keep water with you.

Former Member

Just had to post to see all our av's together, lol.

And yes Tweety you should be allowed water at the checkout

Former Member

Yeah they told us that we only had to have 20 mins by law. They are so generous

Former Member

See i am one of these people that doesn't like to make a fuss or moan to them etc. BUT its getting to the stage that i will have to. Maybe its just me that gets dizzy and stuff without a drink. *shrugs*

Former Member

Tweety wrote:

See i am one of these people that doesn't like to make a fuss or moan to them etc. BUT its getting to the stage that i will have to. Maybe its just me that gets dizzy and stuff without a drink. *shrugs*

I dunno. I would most likely find it uncomforable to go for a few hours without a drink, but I've not worked in a situation where they haven't let me.

I'd take it up with HR. There's obviously leeway as I've seen staff at both of our local Asdas who have had flasks of drink at the counter.

Former Member

Yeah we will see.

Former Member

Mist wrote:

I dunno. I would most likely find it uncomforable to go for a few hours without a drink, but I've not worked in a situation where they haven't let me.

I'd take it up with HR. There's obviously leeway as I've seen staff at both of our local Asdas who have had flasks of drink at the counter.

i have too, in our asda they sit and drink out of mugs. Sainsbury's didn't like us to coz aparently it looks unprofessional in front of the customers, even though everyone needs to drink to live, and the air con does mean you get dry really quickly

! i used to make sure i had a big drink before i started and on my break and had gum or small hard boiled sweets in my pocket to stop my mouth getting dry.

i also used to keep a bottle of water underneath my till and when it was quiet duck down and have a swig, if anyone popped up unexpectedly i used to say i was picking up rubbish. i also used to pretend i had a bad cough alot as they let us have drinks on our till then

Former Member

i work at tesco and i think we're allowed some water in a bottle if we ask nicely, lol.

Former Member

Be nice if they supplied you with some little juice packets with straws then yuo can have a quick drag between customers!!

If you work for CoCa Cola head office for example you get unlimited drinks, i.e. coke, fanta, sprite but then teas, coffee, juice and soup from the machines and all free.

Former Member

it is actually illegal. You have to have access to water, it's illegal to be denied access.

Former Member

Tweety, the advice I'll give is what I always give. You really do need to give ACAS a bell, just to ask them so that you know where you stand.

They do give you extra breaks than the legal minimum, but I do think you are entitled to be able to drink, or take breaks to drink. When I worked at Tesco I was allowed to go in and get drinks, so long as I didn't take the piss, although admittedly I was doing heavy manual labour and wasn't working in the store on a checkout.

Loads of companies have free vend machines, for the record. Only company I've worked for that hasn't is Royal Mail, who really are an atrocious employer.

Former Member

acas have a website, have a mooch on it.

30min break for 8hrs is right. you have to have 15min break for every 4 hours. Maybe have a word and see if you can split your break so you go twice to get a drink.

I work a 10hour shift and only have a 1hr lunch break, but we are allowed to make ourselves tea/cofee, eat some biscuits discreetly or whatever during our shift.

Sainsburys never had free drinks, except water.

Former Member

See my work is good this way, in fact every job ive had has been good this way, in letting us keep drinks either behind a staff only door or allowing us to leave the shop floor to go get a drink. In my current work we area allowed to keep drinks in the stock room, i dehydrate an aweful lot so require a lot of fluids.

Tweety, although you dont like to make a fuss, don not be afraid to stand up for yourself, if you require water etc then go talk to HR or a superviser or similar and explain that to them.

Former Member

EDN1 wrote:

Tweety, although you dont like to make a fuss, don not be afraid to stand up for yourself, if you require water etc then go talk to HR or a superviser or similar and explain that to them.

Yesterday i did ask if someone could cover me a mo as i really needed a drink and she let me but its like i asked for a million pounds. I don't like to be made to feel like i am a pain. I hate it but i can't go without a drink for so long either.

Former Member

Kermit wrote:

Tweety, the advice I'll give is what I always give. You really do need to give ACAS a bell, just to ask them so that you know where you stand.

As Kermit said give ACAS a call. failing that write/phone the local paper see is you can embrasses them into action. When i worked at waitrose (many moons ago), we had a 15min break in morning and evening and a 1hr lunch break. I think that it might just be your store manager. as i've seen people on the checkout at my local asda wallmart with bottles of water, coke, 7up etc...

Former Member

Youngbull wrote:

As Kermit said give ACAS a call. failing that write/phone the local paper see is you can embrasses them into action.

I haven't even finished my 12 week probabtion yet so they would just sack me. :grump:

Former Member

We're not allowed drinks either, but we all manage somehow. I reckon for now, a sports bottle or something you can sip from when it's quiet would probably go unnoticed. It's absurd that companies have rules like that.

Former Member

piccolo wrote:

We're not allowed drinks either, but we all manage somehow. I reckon for now, a sports bottle or something you can sip from when it's quiet would probably go unnoticed. It's absurd that companies have rules like that.

Thats all i was doing. It sucks