Does every employer have to provide clothing lockers for their employees?

Before learning about the advantages and basic features of health and safety cabinets, it is worth noting the regulations that govern the necessity of providing this furniture to a company’s employees. Whether or not each person working at an establishment must be provided with their own closet locker depends on whether employees change into work attire. If a change of clothes is required before starting work, the employee must have his own health and safety locker. As indicated by § 11.1. of the Ministerial Decree of September 26, 1997 on general regulations of occupational safety and health, the employees’ personal clothing locker room should be equipped with lockers intended for the individual use of each employee. Lockers must therefore not be assigned on a rotational basis, i.e. not used by others even when the owner is absent from the plant. This allows everyone to freely leave their belongings for the next working day, without having to constantly take them home and bring them back. This condition directly indicates that the number of health and safety clothing lockers should be equal to a minimum of the total number of people employed at the company.

Health and safety lockers with bench

Another provision related to the adequate provision of employee locker rooms, contained in § 8.1, states that there should be seating in the locker room for at least 50% of the employees on the most numerous shift. Polish standards do not specify the type of these seats – they can be chairs or benches between two rows of lockers. However, the most favorable solution from the point of view of limited space are closet cabinets with a bench. In this way, the employer saves himself the trouble of looking for an additional piece of workplace equipment, and employees have enough space to rest and change freely. A very interesting option are benches that slide out from under the locker frame – such a solution allows maximum use of locker room space. Employee lockers with bench and many other models can be found in the offer of facility equipment manufacturer ALSANIT.

Employee locker room under the law

Employee lockers are a necessity in many establishments. Before choosing the model that best suits the needs of their future owners, the employer should also learn about the regulations for arranging locker rooms with such furniture. Here are the most important of the standards contained in the Ministerial Decree of September 26, 1997:

• § 7.1 The rooms designated for changing rooms should be dry and, as far as possible, lit by daylight.

• § 7.4 The locker rooms referred to in paragraph 2 (arranged in basements or cellars), intended for more than 25 employees should be equipped with mechanical ventilation.

• § 8.2 The width of the passages between two rows of cabinets and the main communication passages should be not less than 1.5 m. The width of the passages between rows of cabinets and the wall should be not less than 1.1 m.

The general principle that applies to any type of employee locker room is the need to adapt it to the type of work, the possibility of soiling the body and contamination of clothing with harmful, poisonous or infectious substances.

When is it worth investing in customized health and safety clothing cabinets?

Not every workplace requires employee lockers to be installed in locker rooms. If employees are in an office space, they can store their clothing on the hangers provided. Nevertheless, even in places that do not require special furniture by law, it is worth providing your employees with their own clothing lockers. Many people commute to the workplace by bicycle, and bicycle lockers are becoming increasingly popular. Your own locker allows you to change out of your bicycle sportswear into an outfit that fits the company’s dress code.

Health and safety clothing cabinets will be most appreciated by office workers in winter. Heavy and warm footwear can be changed for lightweight sports shoes or even flip-flops, in which it is definitely more comfortable to pass 8 hours of work at the desk. Then additional furniture for storing personal footwear will prove invaluable. An unquestionable advantage of ALSANIT is the ability to integrate lockers into the space of new office buildings, both visually and in terms of modifying the dimensions and equipment of the cabinets.

Visual qualities of the safety and health locker

The employee locker room does not have to be a gloomy, colorless room. Modern models of closet cabinets allow you to arrange this place in an original and colorful way. Moreover, if the furniture is made of MFC, it can be decorated with one of many types of decors. We also offer to cover the furniture with graphics on request. The cabinets can also be numbered.

What kind of employee lockers to choose?

Legal standards regulate when an employee needs a health and safety locker, but their appearance and other details can be chosen at your own discretion. Find out how individual closet cabinets can differ from model to model.

The most resistant material is high-pressure laminate, or HPL (High Pressure Laminate) for short. It is a material that is very resistant to adverse mechanical influences. In addition, it is distinguished by its resistance to moisture and water resistance. Cabinets made of HPL will perform well as employee furniture in any workplace, where they are a necessary requirement, but not only. This durable construction is also appreciated by investors who equip swimming pools, gyms or other places where this furniture ensures the convenience of visitors and the safety of stored items.

A cheaper material is MFC particle boards. They can be successfully used for the construction of lockers intended for rooms where there is no moisture in the air.

However, the most common solution is metal lockers. These inexpensive cabinets manufactured by ALSANIT have many advantages – modular design allows you to modify the equipment of the cabinet and adapt it to the needs of the workplace even after delivery to the destination. Metal bodies are made of powder-coated galvanized steel, which significantly increases their service life. Finally, the doors of the cabinets can be metal, but nothing prevents them from being made of HPL plates – which, in ALSANIT’s opinion, is the best investment in the cost-effect relationship.

Health and safety lockers – prices

When it comes to closet cabinets, prices are primarily determined by the material from which they are constructed. Often the rooms for which health and safety cabinets are intended are not exposed to moisture. Then a cheaper alternative to HPL, LPW particleboard, can be used. These boards are valued for their wide arrangement possibilities, and cost less than high-pressure laminate. However, our most recommended solution for health and safety cabinets are those with metal bodies and doors made of HPL, LPW or metal.

FAQ:

1. Are health and safety clothing lockers required in every workplace?

The employer is required to equip the employees’ locker room with special lockers if they perform their tasks in work attire. In addition, the regulations say that each person must have his own locker. It is therefore excluded to exchange them between shifts.

2. Is it worth it to purchase employee lockers for companies where they are not required?

The presence of lockers for employees definitely gives them a greater sense of comfort in the workplace. Even in office spaces, the extra furniture comes in handy for changing shoes for more comfortable ones or sporting clothes for smart office attire. It is worth setting aside space, at least for small lockers, which will be appreciated by all the company’s regulars.

3. How is the equipment of employee locker rooms regulated in Poland?

Answers to questions about how big they need to be health and safety lockers, how much space a locker room should have and much other useful information can be found in the Regulation of the Minister of Labor and Social Policy of September 26, 1997 on general regulations of occupational safety and health. Any employer who employs people who change clothes and footwear before the start of a shift should study in detail the standards for employee lockers.