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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

to expect free drinks facilities at work

61 replies

calculatorsatdawn · 21/05/2014 11:29

I work in an office with about a thousand people, there is canteen and a drinks machine that you can buy hot an cold drinks from.

I am terrible at managing my money and therefore have no cash to buy tea as I limp towards payday tomorrow. I made a flask of tea this morning and evidently I need to run the flask through the dishwasher as my tea tastes of soup, but at least I have a drink.

IABU to expect that we should have facilities to have a drink of water? If you forget your wallet or your flask of disgusting oxtail tea you can't have a drink all day. I leave the house at 7am and generally get home around 7pm.

OP posts:

Original poster

calculatorsatdawn · 21/05/2014 12:59

Oh no, I love my job and working here is the best place I've ever worked my company is an excellent employer (apart from the drinks situation) which is a why I'm a bit suprised they're not more generous in even providing a water cooler. I'm fairly new so I don't know what if anything has been said in the past but everyone just seems to bring in their own flasks etc.

I'm going to do some digging

OP posts:

allhailqueenmab · 21/05/2014 13:03

This is a rip-off - 5p for water I am not sure is legal; you are right that the water from cold taps in other places need not be potable (the law is different from dwellings, where by law there needs to be a cold water mains tap which is potable).

Even the tea and coffee - I don't think they should have to provide it for free (though that would be nice) but there should be a kettle and bring your own tea bags, or tea at cost price, not a horrible marked up machine.

this is outrageous but I have no idea what you can do about it.

SpottieDottie · 21/05/2014 13:04

Yes, you should have facilities to have a drink of water. I think you will find that most offices have a tap.

mumteedum · 21/05/2014 18:20

Worked for horrible company years ago where there were only drinks vending machines. Can't remember how much the (rank) coffee was but all the bosses had a key so didn't pay! Nice.

Same company sacked 40 staff then turned up in new ferraris next day. Classy.

Mintyy · 21/05/2014 18:24

"How do you wash your hands after the loo?"

What on earth has that got to do with op's question?

usuallysuspect · 21/05/2014 18:31

If there was a drinking water tap in the toilets, it would be marked as drinking water.

Bit tight not to have a few water coolers dotted about. Where else do you gather for a gossip

EurotrashGirl · 21/05/2014 18:36

I agree steff13 it would never occur to me that an indoor tap in the UK didn't provide suitable drinking water. As Thurlow pointed out, taps don't need to be labeled unless the water is not suitable for drinking.

ICanSeeTheSun · 21/05/2014 18:37

My dad works in a middle of a field, even the company he works for makes sure the first thing that is delivered is a porta cabin with a water cooler and toilets.

It's the bare minimum to expect.

lanbro · 21/05/2014 18:42

We have our own business, I provide tea, coffee, sugar, milk and a water cooler. We also have a kettle, microwave, fridge, freezer, toaster, toastie maker and George Foreman grill! Perhaps I am spoiling them?!

mumteedum · 21/05/2014 19:07

Definitely Lambro, start charging for drinks then sack em and buy a nice car. ;)

allhailqueenmab · 21/05/2014 19:12

As I said upthread, you cannot assume in non-dwellings (that is, offices) that the water from the cold tap is potable (as you can in dwellings, because that is the law). It may have come from a tank or something. (I did assume this and someone put me straight. In offices, or other buildings that are not dwellings, don't drink from any tap that is not labelled "for drinking")

Having said that - I can't believe that it is not illegal to have no drinking water laid on. Not all the taps are going to be potable, but surely there should be one, or a water fountain, or a water cooler, by law? 5p for water? Miserable scumbags.

Solaia · 21/05/2014 19:20

We have hot water and cold water but provide the tea, coffee etc ourselves. Don't think I've ever worked anywhere that provides free tea and coffee.

At my BIL work they have a beer fridge which is opened and free of charge all day on a Friday!

mummytime · 21/05/2014 19:59

DH's London office provides free coffee from one of those Pod machines.

Deverethemuzzler · 21/05/2014 20:04

We have a kitchen with a sink so we can get water from that.
We used to have water coolers but they went ages ago because they cost money and the public sector has undergone huge cuts.

I have never worked anywhere that provided free hot drinks.

We have only just started seeing the return of tea and coffee on some training courses.

I think its pretty crap that your company does not provide water. I wouldn't mind getting it out of the tap in the loo but its pretty poor of them not give you an alternative.

Charlieboo30 · 21/05/2014 20:13

I don't think I'd really want to drink the water from the toilet taps. At my work, the drinking water comes from a tank and just doesn't taste nice, so I take in bottled water. I think I get 6 two litre bottles for £1.25 from Lidl. We have a kettle, fridge and microwave but have to provide everything else ourselves.

somewheresomehow · 21/05/2014 20:17

why dont you just take a bottle of water with you

EurotrashGirl · 21/05/2014 20:18

allhailqueenmab that is not correct according to this UK government publication that Thurlow cited. See the top of page 3. www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/indg293.pdf

OP, it does appear that your employers are in violation of the law by not providing cups or a drinking fountain. So you could bring it up with them.

allhailqueenmab · 21/05/2014 20:20

Eurotrashgirl, what part of that leaflet says I am wrong - about what?

EurotrashGirl · 21/05/2014 20:24

The top of page 3 as I said in my earlier post
Drinking water does not have to be marked unless there is a significant risk of people drinking non-drinking water

Pipbin · 21/05/2014 20:28

From up thread ^Do I need to provide drinking water?
Yes. The law requires that you provide drinking water and ensure that:
? it is free from contamination and is preferably from the public water supply _ bottled water dispensers are acceptable as a secondary supply;
? it is easily accessible by all employees;
? there are adequate supplies taking into consideration the temperature of the working environment and types of work activity;
? cups or a drinking fountain are provided.
Drinking water does not have to be marked unless there is a significant risk of people drinking non-drinking water.

It doesn't say it has to be free.

Very stingy though. Most places have a water fountain or cooler. I must say though if you are struggling for 5p then you really need to have a good look at your money situation.

allhailqueenmab · 21/05/2014 20:29

What did I say that contradicts that?

HauntedNoddyCar · 21/05/2014 20:32

I work in the public sector. We have some taps and that's it. As well as supplying our own tea and coffee we buy the kettle and microwave.

2rebecca · 21/05/2014 20:36

If there is a drinks machine providing cold water for 5p then they are providing water. As Pipbin says the regulations quoted don't say it has to be free.
Most places I've worked have free cold tap water though, although we only have 1 cold water tap that is safe to drink from in our area.
I think if you don't want to pay 5p you take your own

EllenJanesthickerknickers · 21/05/2014 20:39

I worked for a large company that for its enormous new build unit, decided that kettles etc were to be banned (as they had a duty to PAT test them all) and they, instead provided drinks machines with horrible instant tea etc at 10p a pop. (Back in 1990s) You could get cold or hot water from the machines but at a charge for the cup, like the OP. There was uproar from the staff who had worked there in old buildings with many kitchen areas for years and years. It still went ahead, though.

Where I work currently, (school) the lab supply of water is obviously not potable, (cloudy and a bit gritty) and there are water coolers provided for staff and children as well as water in the canteen.

Deverethemuzzler · 21/05/2014 20:43

Water coolers are expensive though. Unless there is no other source of drinking water I think the are a luxury.

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