dose an employe have the right to use the toilet at work
reason I ask is because a lot of big companies put it in righting ‘no stopping on route’
Well, if it was me i would stop regardless if i needed a bowel movement be it 1 or 2
Maybe they they will start fitting porta potties in each truck, then in the event of a rollover the driver would get a blue rinse 
I did a few nights for comet via an agency, drivers weren’t allowed to stop en route, but i did cause i needed to go ,although on the back wheel, but there’s no way on this planet i would hold it in for several hours, and i think it’s unreasonable for them to expect that any driver should, unless the max journey time from point A to point B is under say 15mins
As for an employee having the right to use a toilet whilst in the work place , i would think yes would be the answer as all employers do have a duty of care to their workers, you could not expect say factory workers not to use/need the toilet during their shift , i doubt that they could get away with only allowing access to a bog during break times either
I think it’s unfair, the idiots sat behind the desk in the office(playing solitaire & Facebook) can do as they please, why can’t the driver…!?
I have always stuck up for myself no matter who I worked for, try and stop me doing something thats a human right they get told that i will do it and if they don’t like it they can find another driver. I refuse to be treated like a comodity or a number. I have been the same towards ever employer no matter how good the job was, fact is if they have rules like that they are not a good employer.
When the show company I worked for the England was taken over by Keddy they tried to rule with an iron fist but they got nothing but rebelion from our staff. They banned smoking anywhere on site but we just carried on, when they told us we could all be fired we just said ok then, try and find 20 odd guys who can build all the equipment it has taken us ages to learn, they backed down, the last December in England I booked 3 weeks in the mountains of NY and they sent some HR ■■■■■ to tell me I couldn’t go, my response was “Hard luck, tickets paid for and I’m going” she went off to relay my message and returned 30 minutes later to tell me if I went the job might not be here when I came back and I told her to tell them ok… an hour passed when the boss appeared and told me I had created a real problem but to take my holiday and enjoy it … I did as told
Tell me I can’t go to the loo and you’ll need another driver.
It seems there isn’t an actual specific law about toilet breaks but there are lots of inferred responsibilities for employers. Some links for you to read up on. Personally, if I need a loo break on a run and I’ve been told not to stop then I will go but I’ll chose a place where I’m near the vehicle of sorts assuming regular standing up-liquid releif but otherwise I will stop at services.
hazards.org/toiletbreaks/toiletbreaks2
tuc.org.uk/workplace/tuc-17668-f0.cfm
xperthr.co.uk/blogs/employme … r-toi.html
Thread on Consumer Action Group Forum
Some URLs you might want to look at. However, as an ‘Owner & Driver’ surely you should know this yourself? Having worked in a call centre in the past I can understand the point where management want to make sure there is adequate cover on the phones but more than that is just detrimental to the service, in more ways than one!
As a driver, or a mobile worker as it is put, we have a certain level of independence from the management to get the job done. I too have had the call asking why I had pulled into xyz services on my route and usually the offer of ‘I can use a bottle and bring it in as proof if you’d like, or do you have a fetish for that?’ usually stops ANY further enquires! But if the lorry is tracked and someone calls you whenever you stop, or are going ‘too slow’ or anything like that, then clearly they’ve got too much time on their hands… 
When i was training for a large parcel carriers, thier policy was no stopping on route. I would tell all drivers that if you needed to stop for an emergency toilet break as can happen, we are all human, Use a service area, or somewhere with a lot of people or CCTV around, DON’T stop in laybys or anywhere that is not secure.
when they say “no stopping on route”. they would be better off asking you to try to get there without stopping. if someone gets too demanding with me, then i will by nature rebel against them.
i can understand some companies thinking they have to tell each and every driver how to do the job. this is because there are so many coming into the industry that have a can’t do, won’t do attitude.
if drivers set out from the start of there employment with a can do attitude, and made decisions one their own without phoning the office every fives minutes, then they might get some respect.
Its probably in writing to cover their arses with insurance cover for high risk loads.
I’ve pulled for Comet as well as others with other high value loads, never have i been questioned about stopping on the way, but as with such things you use your loaf and keep your mincers peeled.
To be fair, most ask you not to take breaks unless absolutely necessary, they ask you to take breaks in their depots or at delivery points if at all possible, or somewhere sensible if not.
What never fails to amuse me is the heavily signwritten liveries and unusual colour schemes such companies use, might as well go round with a big sky finger pointing at the truck with the balloon message…‘‘hijack me’’ in 10 ft letters.
I’ve driven a rigid box truck that the sign writing said it was delivering fruit and veg from a Midlands area nationwide… In the back were palletised flat screen monitors
At least they remembered to give us a pump truck and a tail lift
Do the company provide you with a cork ,our a suitable ■■■■ bottle ?, if you’ve got to go youe’ve got to go. Our get a Big nappy 
Do they also expect you to use cruise control and the tram lines in lane 1 if you feel tired and want to nod-off ■■
Any instructions given to me regarding when I’m allowed to stop will go straight in one ear and out the other !
truckerjon:
When i was training for a large parcel carriers, thier policy was no stopping on route. I would tell all drivers that if you needed to stop for an emergency toilet break as can happen, we are all human, Use a service area, or somewhere with a lot of people or CCTV around, DON’T stop in laybys or anywhere that is not secure.
I used to drive a night trunk for a subcontractor to a parcels carrier. They (the carrier) had a ‘no stopping’ rule. If i needed to stop for a ■■■■ or a quick break, i would!
We were supposed to present the previous night’s card to the office to see if we had stopped - something that all the drivers strongly protested about about. I once had my knuckles wrapped for stopping for a ■■■■. I simply pointed out that if you think a driver can open the curtains, climb onto the top deck of a decker, locate the corect cage, open it locate something of value with in everything crammed in there, nick it then re secure the trailer within the 5 mins showing on my card, then they are bigger morons than i first thought. I also asked them how many warehouse staff had been sacked for theft in the past and how many drivers had. they quickly went very quiet!
Another word about me stopping was never raised!
Please can shed some light on whether you can stop en route for toilet if you are carrying bonded goods,
bonnie lass:
Please can shed some light on whether you can stop en route for toilet if you are carrying bonded goods,
Light: We are humans who produce wee and faeces regularly. Stop in a safe place and exhaust.
Pat Hasler:
Tell me I can’t go to the loo and you’ll need another driver.
Tell me that and they will need to clean their desk
The only place that this has ever been an issue was on DHL, but only on export airfreight to do with the aviation security.
In theory we were only supposed to stop when we reached the airlock after leaving a station. However if you need a crap you need a crap so a phone call was made before and after and the security would be informed at the hub.
To be honest it didn’t cause much problem as we slept out at the stations, toilets and often showers were available, no station was any further away than 4 hours from the hub, some were only an hour away.
A human rights argument that seems to be the flavour of the month is this: Would a guest at HM Pleasure be expected to go for long periods of time without answering a call of nature and being provided with the facilities to do so? The simple answer is NO - in that case you can’t expect me to do anything a prisoner in jail would not be allowed to do.
I am sure this is not about load risk, after all thats what insurance’s for, it’s more about theft of time. You stop for a wee, coffee or ■■■ break and not declare it as a legitimate break, then the powers that be see this as theft of time. Add it up over the course of a day, multiply it by the number of drivers and hey presto you have an amount of money that is a direct cost to the operation. By telling the gullable that you can’t stop en-route is in my book bullying, contrary to Health and Safety and is like asking someone to fall asleep at the wheel.
I see myself as a driver/manager - I manage the driving and ultimately the safe operation of the vehicle. If I need a stop for whatever reason then I take it. If the loads going to be late then I tell them and justify the reason why. Simples…
People who work for big companies are generally those who need their hand held, so im not surprised by silly rules like that.
FFS 
What is wrong with everybody why are we even discussing this sh 
if you want to stop for a ■■■■… then jeeeez stop for a ■■■■ , why acknowledge these tossers credibility by even considering their bloody stupid rules, that is why they spend their time justifying their existence by making them, because they know that someone will be bloody stupid enough to blindly go ahead and obey them, strap a pair on and tell them to zb OFF!!!