In brief: rail depot welfare facilities

Contacting CIRAS is a step towards resolving your health, safety and wellbeing concerns.

We pass your concerns in confidence to the company that your concern is about. This could be your employer or a company you are working for as a contractor.

This real-life case study shows how it works.

The concern

Someone contacted us to raise a concern about a rail depot that didn’t have toilets with plumbing or any sinks. Although there were chemical toilets, they did not think this was enough for the size of the depot.

They were concerned about the impact on personal hygiene* of not having running water or soap to wash hands.

They asked for a toilet and sinks with running hot and cold water to be installed at the depot. Until that was possible, they asked for hand sanitiser or a temporary handwashing station.

The response – what happened after the CIRAS report?

The company was aware that a poor solution had been in place for some time. There were facilities available at another depot a short drive away but the company appreciated this wasn’t always practical.

In their response to the CIRAS report, they said they were hiring temporary welfare units with hot and cold water, female and male facilities and signs with a number for staff to call if facilities weren’t up to scratch.

They considered and investigated several other short- and longer-term solutions. In the end the company ordered a suitable permanent welfare unit. They also began a review to identify other areas with poor welfare provision.

Contact CIRAS with a health, safety or wellbeing concern

Online form
Phone: 0800 4 101 101
Text: 07507 285 887
Freepost: CIRAS

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*This concern was raised before Covid-19.

**The image used is a stock photograph and not associated with the report.