Changing Nappies in Job Centre Plus/When there are no facilities

[Earlybirdtea]

I went to register for job seekers allowance last week for the first time after just being made redundant. I arrived on time with my seven month old son, my 2 year old is in nursery).

Anyway during my meeting my son's nappy needed changing and there are no changing facilities or even toilets so I popped him on my shawl and quickly changed his wet nappy(Not Poo). If a baby is crying and there are no facilities then as a mother I believe that to be exceptable to change their nappy in the best available place which was on the floor,not the table and I was thinking of the point of view of others around me as if he got uncomfortable then he would have started crying which would have disturbed the other interviewees.

In short, I was told, You can't do that here, I responded saying there are no facilities and was told that this is an office environment, you would have thought that you would have arranged childcare!!!

I have written a letter of complaint and been informed that the lady who approached me was in fact doing her job as a health and safety professional, fair enough and, "there are Public Facilities within 100 yards of our building and in the future we will endeavour to highlight this when appropriate." It was also communicated to me that they encourage customers not to bring children to their interviews.

Am I being unreasonable to think that they should offer changing facilities, even special access/lockable? I really don't like the idea of going down the road to some public toilet block, there may be facilities in there I will have to check.

I also feel that they have no place to tell you that children are not really welcome in this environment, it is certainly not ideal I know. I do not plan to take my son to job interviews and have only just been made redundant.

Should I just back off and except their response, I have other important things to think about I don't plan on having to go there very long or on the other hand should I escalate this within their internal complaints procedure
as this is a bit mother and young baby unfriendly.

I would really appreciate your comments

YANBU

The JC services the public and should provide appropriate facilities. Expecting a mother to put her child in childcare to attend an appointment is absurd.

To me the on the floor thing very much depends where on the floor. If she just stopped in the middle of the floor or in front of the chairs that's wrong - even if just from a h and s view of blocking the area - if she found a quiet corner that's more acceptable but only for a pooy nappy.

Yabu.

It's a wet nappy, not poomageddon/projectile vomiting. Do you also wake up at 2am to change?

Whilst a wet nappy is not an emergency lots of babies get fairly irritated by it and an irritated baby often equals a bawling baby.

I would prefer a baby to be changed rather than sitting crying, for my comfort as much as theirs.

Can't see anything wrong with what the op did at all. And I wish dd's bladder had been half as predictable as the children's on here seem to be.

"H & S view of blocking the area"

FFS how on earth is a mum changing a baby more of a "blockage" than being there not changing a nappy

Baby sat on mums knee. Baby and mother both on floor changing nappy. That's a pretty big difference IMO!

The JC should have toilets. Those saying that they don't need them have obviously never had to compulsary attend one, you can wait around for over an hour.

The DWP have closed down all of the small offices, so people have to travel to attend, to start with and not everyone has cars or are able to drive because of medical conditions.

I have had claimants come into the welfare rights organisation that i volunteer at, having had their benefit 'sanctioned', because they 'missed their appointment' when all they have done is tried to find a toilet.

For those who have good bladders, good for you, not everyone does, especially those on the 'work group' of ESA.

If they cannot cater for children then thiose with under 5's shouldn't have to attend.

Sorry but agree Jobcentre is no place for children or a baby and taking them along suggests you are n't really available to work.

Dont be so ridiculous, how on earth does it suggest this? I would assume if OP got a job then she could arrange regular childcare then - or is OP meant to book a nursery or Child minder space - and pay for it on the off chance a job will come along immediately just like that?!!

Not everyone has friends or relatives nearby they can drop their child off for an hour or 2 - people should think themselves lucky if they do.

agree...and this is an hour or two that may turn into 3 or even 4, especially if you have the misfortune to need a wee while you're waiting. Oh I forgot, no one ever does..

Waiting an hour for an appointment? I'm afraid I still don't understand why you can't go to the toilet immediately before you arrive.

I thought it was only men who left the house with a full bladder.

I can. Not everyone can - some people need to pee rather more urgently.

YANBU at all. This should be a service available to all. I support vulnerable women who have noone to leave their children with and no funds and they get this treatment in many places. It makes me sick.

For those who say that a jobcentre is no place for babies you really ought to get into the real world. People have to attend appointments there or they lose their benefits and in my area can wait for up to an hour. If you're not there when your name is called then tough.

Wouldn't you be outraged if they told wheelchairs users to make their way up steps or failed to explain something in writing to someone who couldn't read? This is exactly the same principle - it is supposed to be a service for the public and should where possible meet the public's needs.

oops whilst I have been doing my one-fingered tying you've all said - much more articulatey -l what I wanted to say ..

I think there needs to be a disabled toilet, with a RADAR key if necessary, with the necessary facilities for anyone with problems hanging around waiting for appointments. If disabled people are missing appointments because they have to trek down the street to find a public convenience, this seems to be in breach of the Equality Act. And I think staff members should be more polite to job seekers and not treat them like errant schoolchildren.

I would write a pretty cross letter to the manager of the service, and copy it to other local bigwigs as necessary.

Not having somewhere to change a nappy is not comparable to not letting disabled people in.

I have had to take Ds to the job centre with me before now but I certainly wouldn't expect them to provide anything for him or expect them to have baby change facilities

I am one of the people paying for this service to be provided, indirectly, and it seems that job centre staff have forgotten they work for us in this instance, not themselves.

If there was a disabled toilet parents could change children in there.

"Waiting an hour for an appointment? I'm afraid I still don't understand why you can't go to the toilet immediately before you arrive. "

Can you not at least understand that some people have to travel to get to a JC and cannot wait that long?

I often wonder if those that design these buildings/systems have ever had contact with humans, or at least humans one's that have medical problems.

Perhaps they just need to step outside their ivory towers.

It is absolutely comparable Sirzy - the women I work with have no choice but to bring their babies to the jobcentre with them.

Also the JC buildings are built (or have been built) using public money, so their facilities should serve the needs of all of the public using them.

They now need to provide a place for BF, to fit in with the law, so might as well add baby changing facilities as well (not that i want to turn this thread).

I don't think yabu, but I would have maybe changed baby's nappy on my knee rather than on the floor or flat in pram as someone else suggested. And if was just a wet one, I would have waited to be honest.

Maybe get a job before you start a family! then u won't have to visit the job centre