Heath inspector slams building industry for poor hygiene

Wednesday 29 July 2020

Most building sites in Jersey are failing to meet basic health standards, with many having unhygienic toilets, sinks and changing rooms.

Jersey's construction regulator, the Health and Safety Inspectorate, recently carried out a number of spot checks on sites of all sizes across the Island.

It found that a majority had unacceptable facilities, including one site where the only water supply for workers was a bucket of dirty water.

Many had no running hot water, with some relying on boiling it in a kettle.

The standard was so poor on two sites that enforcement notices were served for failure to meet the minimum legal requirements.

Pictured: At this site, the only water for staff was in the yellow bucket on the right.

The HIS said: “We have expressed concern over the general standards of welfare provision on construction sites over the past few years.

"In the current covid-19 pandemic, the importance of ensuring workers are provided with a high standard of welfare and handwashing facilities, and adopt robust hygiene procedures in accordance with Government advice, is critical to help minimise the risk of transmission of the disease.

“Site visits undertaken over the last week identified that there was a wide range in the standards of facilities observed. While some sites were able to demonstrate good standards in the provision and maintenance of welfare facilities and hygiene procedures, it was concerning to note that the majority of sites fell short of the standards required.”

Pictured: This sink was recently discovered on a site by health and safety inspectors in Jersey.

Construction regulations state that everybody who works on a construction site must have reasonable access to appropriate welfare facilities, including adequate:

• toilet and washing facilities;
• handwashing facilities, with hot/ cold running water wherever practicable;
• drinking water;
• a rest room / area to sit and make drinks and eat food;
• somewhere to change, dry and store clothing and personal protective equipment.

Sandra Gouveia da Silva from Law at Work, which provides health and safety training and advice, said: “The particular concern highlighted by HIS was the failure to provide hot running water where it was reasonably practicable, with some sites relying only on a kettle which is not an acceptable means to provide hot water for handwashing. 

“In some cases, the welfare facilities had adequate functionality to provide hot running water but was not connect to the electricity supply to enable the actual delivery of hot water."

Pictured: An example of good hygiene, seen on an HSI spot-check.

She continued: “It is the relevant contractor’s duty to ensure that appropriate welfare facilities are available to all persons working on a construction site including toilets, suitable changing room, drinking water, and adequate handwashing facilities.

"Where those are found to inadequate, HSI have confirmed they will not hesitate to take action.”