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Original poster

Unisex public loos

36 replies

DameHelena · 30/12/2022 10:18

Went to a cafe the other day that had a set-up that I’m not sure was lawful. There was a door with an image of the usual sort you see in loo signs, except rather than a male and a female one there was just one that was half-male/half-female, leading to a shared space with a sink, bin and hand dryer. One loo cubicle marked ‘accessible’ that had loo, sink, bins and dryer all in one lockable cubicle, and one not marked ‘accessible’, with just loo and sanitary bin. So if a woman or girl used that one, they’d potentially come out into the hand-washing area to see a man/boy there. I was with a friend and her pre-teen DD and felt a little uncomfortable at the idea of the DD being in this position.
Is this set-up technically allowed? I thought all unisex loo facilities had to be self-contained. It was in a town in Wales, if that’s relevant.

OP posts:
ClearlySeeingTheFuture · 03/01/2023 15:47

I’d be very interested to know what exactly the law is here.

I shared on another thread today about a safety issue in shared restaurant toilets in a France this year.

My 11 year old came out of the toilet cubicle to wash her hands in a tiny room and there was a man using a urinal literally right next to her. It seems that he was as uncomfortable as she was thankfully. But how is this ok??

And is this what we can expect for the UK?

Helleofabore · 03/01/2023 15:45

Yes. But this was pre covid.

I felt very uncomfortable washing my hands as the washing area is also just some sinks and taps on effectively a room divider that everyone can see from that area of the store.

Original poster
DameHelena · 03/01/2023 15:29

Unisex ones? And is that lawful? I thought the idea was no one has to be in a space with someone of the opposite sex. I personally find it a bit weird coming out of a cubicle to find a man washing his hands at the sink (men presumably feel the same about me!)

OP posts:
Helleofabore · 03/01/2023 15:25

DameHelena · 03/01/2023 14:35

I emailed the local authority Environmental Health dept with the info/description of the loos I put on this thread, and got this reply:

'Dear DameHelena

I have received your email regarding the toilet facilities at the xxx café. It is permissible for the toilets to be unisex and for the washing facilities to be outside the cubicle.
I hope this answers your question.
If you have any further queries, please get in touch.
Regards
xxx'

Um. They're wrong, aren't they? (they seem so confident, I'm doubting myself)

I think that Liberty store has toilets like this that are single cubicles and shared hand washing.

Original poster
DameHelena · 03/01/2023 14:35

I emailed the local authority Environmental Health dept with the info/description of the loos I put on this thread, and got this reply:

'Dear DameHelena

I have received your email regarding the toilet facilities at the xxx café. It is permissible for the toilets to be unisex and for the washing facilities to be outside the cubicle.
I hope this answers your question.
If you have any further queries, please get in touch.
Regards
xxx'

Um. They're wrong, aren't they? (they seem so confident, I'm doubting myself)

OP posts:
HooverIsAlwaysBroken · 31/12/2022 13:02

If some set-ups aren’t legally allowed, would it be possible to organise a checklist of what is required to comply with legal requirements and a blueprint letter to send to respective authorities, reporting all of these?

it would make it easier for women to check and report - and maybe if there were sufficient amounts of refurbishments required , pubs etc would stop doing this?

KatMcBundleFace · 30/12/2022 16:11

This is the totally safe "INCLUSIVE " unisex toilets in a car park in Mere, Wiltshire.

They just shut the Gents and made the Ladies "inclusive", I'm guessing it's a cost saving, really. They didn't change it at all.

Cheers TRAs. They'll get away with this cos of the 🐂💩 you spread.

Totally mixed. One shared sink. Huge gaps at tops etc etc. Really unsafe.

Unisex public loos
Original poster
DameHelena · 30/12/2022 15:59

That’s precisely it, yes. I’m used to cafes having one loo comprising a lockable cubicle with all hand-washing and sanitary facilities in it, but this arrangement, with an additional loo cubicle that you have to come out of to wash hands, is new to me. And no, the outer door wasn’t lockable; anyone could come into the hand-washing area.
I’ll write to the local council. Thanks all for the input.

OP posts:
PaleBlueMoonlight · 30/12/2022 15:37

From what you have described in that does sound like it would not meet regulations. I found similar in a pub recently (though neither of the two cubicles was accessible, just bog standard loos) and it was very awkward (for both if us) when a man came in shortly after me.

howdoesatoastermaketoast · 30/12/2022 14:04

sorry woman or child

howdoesatoastermaketoast · 30/12/2022 14:03

If I understand correctly I think that as you stand in the public area of the cafe there is one door, marked as being for men and women (boys and girls) - inside this there is a handwashing area and two cubicles off it, either sex can use either cubical but one is a more spacious (accessible) loo presumably with call pull cord and handles etc. this cubical has a wash hand basin. The other does not.

It's worth bearing in mind that a single unisex loo with handwashing facilities & a sanitary bin that is for men and women to share is perfectly lawful for certain sizes of cafe. What would seem unclear is whether this area was designed for occupancy by a single person or not. If it WAS for one person at a time with a lock on the outer door I think it would be ok. HOWEVER fitting it out as two cubicles would send a message that it was multi occupancy and even if there was a lock on the outer door there would be a danger that it wouldn't be used and a woman of child could be followed into the loo by a predatory man who then locks the door behind him, or could walk in on an exhibitionist/ lazy thoughtless guy who had 'forgotten' / not bothered to close the cubicle door.

So this design imo would be a terrible idea whether it had a lock on the outer door or not. As the architecture is certainly hostile to women. I don't believe it would meet building code but a letter of complaint to the local council to ask for clarification couldn't hurt. I would certainly not feel happy or comfortable with that design.