Cafe wouldn’t let pregnant woman use toilet

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I’ve just ordered some breakfast for collection from a local cafe round the corner and had a quick flick through the reviews first. The most recent review is:

‘As a heavily pregnant lady went in desperate for the bathroom and they refused to let me use their toilet despite me being in tears and not close to anywhere else open. In a packed shop full of customers, they said no with no heart, no remorse, no feeling. Have never been more horrified, myself and my husband will never be using this place again’

I feel like it’s a bit harsh and the bit about there being nowhere to go close by is very untrue. There’s a Morrison’s maximum 5 minutes walk away with toilets. As a (second time) pregnant woman myself I wouldn’t get annoyed if an establishment didn't let me use staff toilets, I’d just find somewhere with public ones. The cafe gave a long response as to why they couldn’t let her use the bathroom. Mainly because their insurance didn’t cover customers in the staff area of the cafe and there were lots of boxes etc. laid about. If the pregnant woman had hurt herself then it probably wouldn’t have been good for them. They also said they managed to get the keys for the toilet in the opposite pub so it’s not like the reviewer didn’t get to use one. I think it was quite kind of them to go to the effort of making sure she used a bathroom.

Do you think she’s being reasonable or not? I think she’s being a bit U due to there being a Morrison’s so close by! (I’m not the cafe owner just interested in people’s views). My DM thinks they should have let her use it no questions asked purely because she was pregnant, I’m a little unsure

Oh sorry I just realised they have no customer toilet. Well that makes it even easier, if they don't have one, they don't one.

If there is seating for less than 10 customers then the cafe doesn't have to provide a customer WC - only a single staff one.
Gen public cannot use the staff one and the cafe were totally within their right to refuse her.

I get that usually they wouldn't let customers use the toilet, but surely exceptions can be made for those in desperate circumstances.

Sadly 'Injury Lawers' don't make exceptions and will try to sue anyone who has tripped over a box etc.

If it’s not a customer toilet she can’t use it, end of. They’re not insured.

Doesn’t a cafe need to have a toilet? I don’t think I’ve ever been in a sit in cafe where there is no customer loo.

Don’t eateries by law have to provide access to a toilet for customers?

I thought that anywhere that sold 'eat in' food and drink HAD to provide customer toilets.

YANBU. Sounds like somebody on a power trip.

My bladder was ropey for a few weeks after having DD. I will be forever grateful to the staff member in a well-known chain store escorting me to the staff toilets. She even kept an eye on DD in the pram for me!

I don't actually think the cafe were being unreasonable because their insurance wouldn't cover the non-customer injuring herself in the staff toilet so they're leaving themselves open to all sorts of grief. And this shop I went in wouldn't have been unreasonable to refuse me access to their staff toilet (I didn't actually ask; I'd just asked whether there was a customer toilet and then the staff offered to let me use the staff loos).

I believe the law is that in exceptional circumstances (tiny establishments with fewer than ten seats) they don’t have to.

According to section 20 of the 1976 Local Government MIscellaneous Provisions Act, toilets should be provided if food and drink is being sold for consumption on the premises.

The cafe WBU to not have a toilet, but the customer review was a little OTT.

If she was allowed access to the staff toilets it would invalidate insurance on the premises. The likelihood is that staff coats, bags and maybe stock items are also where access to the staff toilets are. Would you want Joe Public to have access to your bag or wallet at your workplace?

I thought that anywhere that sold 'eat in' food and drink HAD to provide customer toilets.

I don't know the law at all, but there are quite a few of cafes and sandwich places in London with no toilets - some not that small, and part of famous chains too.

If you provide any seating for people to eat and drink at your premises you must provide public toilets and hand washing facilities for those people to use.

eastdevon.gov.uk/environmental-health-and-wellbeing/food-hygiene-and-safety/public-toilet-provision-in-food-businesses/

Okay, she wasn't acustomer, but the staff toilet should not have been the only one on the premises.

'myself and my husband'. Arrggh! ME, my husband and I! You leave off the other person and speak the sentence and you can tell the error because you don't say 'Myself will not be returning to the cafe'.

Other than that, she's an eejit for expecting the rules to be bent because she's pregnant.

I couldn't from about 36 weeks go for an hours drive without going to the toilet twice. I was constantly in pain, needing to wee. I learnt very quickly where places had toilets and didn't. This didn't happen with ds1 or ds2.
I would of been upset if they didn't, but wouldn't of got mad at them or ever written a review.

It wasn't about her not being a customer; it's that the only toilets they have are staff toilets, apparently also being used to store items, and customers aren't insured to use those. If I was in charge of that cafe, I wouldn't be happy about a heavily pregnant woman being somewhere they shouldn't really be. If she'd fallen or tripped on something, they could have found themselves in a very sticky situation (and given the entitledness of the woman in question, in their situation I would be pretty certain that should something happen to her back there, she wouldn't be particularly gracious about it)

”Why can't she buy a coffee?! I never get this! Just buy a snack or a bottle of water then surely you don't need to ask?!”

Buying a coffee won’t magic up a customer toilet where there isn’t one.

7.5 months pregnant with twins so fully supportive of the need to go NOW

BUT

They had an unsafe for unloc staff loo and nothing else and got her access to the loo across the road. I think that's reasonable.

I think refusing use of customer loo in emergency is harsh but still not sure I could muster up that review

Toileting provision is local authority controlled. The council provisions in East Devon won't be the same as elsewhere. Nationally, cafes or takeaways with 10 seats or fewer don't need to provide customer toilets, but it depends on your individual council area as to what they allow.

”Why can't she buy a coffee?! I never get this! Just buy a snack or a bottle of water then surely you don't need to ask?!”
Assuming there is a customer loo and access is blocked then the time it takes waiting around to order the coffee, pay for it etc, esp if there's a queue, can be the difference between wetting yourself or not, esp if you've had to hunt for a toilet and arrive already desperate.

Cafes where I know access is open I just go straight to the loo and mostly will grab something in the way back.

I think she was in the wrong to leave a negative review. A factual review stating they have no customer toilets would have been more appropriate. Being pregnant messes with you and can make you do some irrational things though.

I agree with the cafe. Unfortunate, but nothing they can do.

Recently visited New York, there appeared to be no public bathrooms anywhere. All cafes etc had them, but for paying customers only.

I bought a lot of water I didn't want just because I desperately needed to pee, a lot. You've got to be fair.