Not allowing heavily pregnant woman to use a loo

It’s absolutely crap!

I’m sorry this happened to you.

Unfortunately, you could have gone in and tripped or something and they’d be in serious trouble.

I blame the people who try and make a claim out of every tiny thing.

I do think there needs to be a shift where people can’t sue a company over the smallest thing and then things like this wouldn’t be an issue.

It isn’t the workers fault but I would have been very upset if I were you too.

It is entirely possible that an insurance policy contains certain wording about maintaining staff areas as staff-only, and uses eg the example of allowing someone to use the loo. Why do people think that can't be the case?

The thing is, how can they be flexible if the insurance says no? It only takes one person slipping in the loo and deciding to sue and they're screwed. I'm sure most people would want to help you, but they just can't take the risk.

It is in part, only staff are covered for accidents in the 'back' bit and usually on the condition that they've completed some sort of (usually useless) health and safety training. It's unlikely someone would fall down the stairs on the way to the toilet, trip over, break stuff or whatever but why should they take that risk? There are other reasons too.

not a co-op, no. They can't have randomers, even pregnant ones roaming around in the staff areas... a pub, an office, even a restaurant would prob let you in but I get why they didn't.

Nothing to do with the law - nothing in the law says that retail outlets can't let people use their loos!

It's not insurance. There is no clause in insurance that states claims are excluded if members of the public go into staff areas I doubt you've read every insurance policy in the land, and many have special clauses appended to the main policy. As an example, in my job we have to do certain training and it has to be done by a certain date - required by insurers.

You'd be better off trying to use the private loo of a small business than a staff one in a big chain. They would have more discretion. But in the big chains, you could sue them if you fell or hurt yourself in there, or at least they fear you might. So they just outright ban it.

@pelvicfloorisnomore I have sympathy for you, as I've been heavily pregnant before and needed a wee desperately. (And also needed it desperately whilst not pregnant!) But there's no way that random people can expect to let businesses and companies let them into their private and secure employee quarters. And that includes the toilet.

My friend works in a reception area of a particular well known place, that's open quite late into the evening and night time. It has no public toilets. She has lost count of the times somebody pops in, (sometimes drunk,) at 10 and 11 at night saying 'I need to use the loo.' When she says there isn't a public one, they demand to use the employee one. She refuses. Every time.

She's had to actually get the police out to some people who were threatening to stab or punch her if she doesn't let them use it. (As IF that is going to make her cave, and let them use the toilet FFS.)

No member of the public has got any right to use anybody's staff toilet - heavily pregnant or not. Go behind a bush. I have done before now!

It's nothing to do with insurance. People are making that up.

I've worked in a lot of shops. Obviously, it's not practical to keep letting members of the public into the back. You need to follow them and make sure nothing's stolen for a start. However, few people ask and if it's for a medical need I used to let them.

This is so sad we live in a society like this. Where insurance tops everything.

Yes @WomenInConstruction I agree with you the world is a very hard place now. It’s as if all humanity towards others is disappearing rapidly and being replaced by rules and regulations. I do have the utmost sympathy for the shop staff as well as the OP. They have to deal with some horrible customers (obviously not the OP) and probably their difficult bosses as well. An awful state of affairs. More properly funded and maintained public toilets are needed but that’s not going to happen I fear. I remember wetting myself trying to lift the garage door when heavily pregnant not a pleasant experience but at least I was able to get into the house quickly.

I feel for you. I used to poo myself for a long time after having ds. I think often you just need to plan around it - keep spare pants / clothes & only go to supermarkets that have publically toilets. Vote with your feet.

Has anyone saying insurance actually seen an insurance policy limiting liability in certain area to staff? Often fire escapes are through back doors, so I highly doubt it. I reckon in many places it is done just so they stay nice for staff, or so that they don't need cleaning for customers. So yes, I think it's completely unreasonable.

I do wonder how many of the "be kind" humanitarians here have ever actually worked somewhere where the loos are open to the public and have had to be the one cleaning up shit off the walls, used tampons and needles?

If you were aware of how utterly grim the general public (NOT suggesting OP personally but the whole point is you can't tell!) are perhaps you'd be more understanding about why staff might not want everyone using their loos and why shops don't have public loos unless they absolutely have to. Small shops like a coop won't have cleaning staff on hand all day, just at the start/end of the week so it would just be the normal staff who get stuck with it.

Would you like your 16 year old child on £6.40 an hour to have to clean up explosive diarrhoea, vomit and used needles? And if your answer is "well my child is too busy concentrating on their a-levels to work in the co-op" then I have my answer....

It is a pain when customers ask to use the toilet as it takes you off the shop floor and then other customers moan that there aren't enough staff to serve them. As has been said there are security issues as stock and possibly staff items would be near the toilet. There is also a risk that the customer would leave the toilet a mess. We didn't have an instore cleaner so would have to clean it ourselves.

I did let a pregnant woman use it once but I usually said no as there were toilets in the shopping centre the shop was in.

There is a massive issue in general about the lack of public toilets. I am expert in knowing where they are in my town.

I have a chronic bladder condition and every trip I make has to be with toilets in mind. I don’t drink before a car journey or a trip to the shops. I wouldn’t dream of asking to use a staff toilets in a shop to be honest. I’d assume that insurance is an issue anyway. If I’m going somewhere new, I go online to check out potential toilet situations first (ie, is there a public toilets nearby? Or is there a Costa that I could go to and then buy something on the way out etc)

I’m sorry OP. I think you’re right.If I was the store manager I’d have let you use the loo. Sod the rules- where has everyone’s humanity gone??

This. It's very likely that allowing any member of the public into staff areas for any reason whatsoever would be a sackable offence.

"Well maybe the policy needs to be changed to incorporate a bit of civility in to our daily lives?"

Take that up with the civilians who've earmarked retail stores as easy prey for slip and fall payouts or easy defamation claims.

Love how the OP is just ignoring everyone explaining why the rule is in place 😂

Sorry you had to go through that but the staff member did the right thing. If you start bending the rules for one it's a slippery slope.

I am sorry but this is insane. I had twins and my pelvic floor has never been the same but I think this is ridiculous - large supermarkets have public toilets - we can't expect local corner shops to have facilities / the reduced floor space / the insurance / the extra staff costs for maintaining. We can't expect small local stores, of which co-ops are usually one of them, to have these extra costs so a pregnant lady can shop there instead of driving to a larger store which has toilets. The sense of entitlement is just crazy. People with incontinence issues (including myself) can buy products / order online / shop at stores with toilets or toilets near by.

Exactly, plus a staff member would have to accompany them, and then you have the issue of the staff member being alone with a customer too - not to mention the shop floor being left partially uncovered as well.

Ah it's rubbish, OP, but I think it's just a bad luck set of circumstances. I can understand why they don't want or can't have members of the public accessing work areas.

At our local Coop, the staff toilets are on the far side of the warehouse area they have at the back, where they have people wheeling stock about, stuff stacked, etc., so I can well believe that there may be a risk, however small, if members of public could access this area. It's frustrating but if you had gone there and tripped over something (particularly while heavily pregnant) then the consequences could have been serious.

Not a nice thing to have to deal with but hopefully a one-off.