What are they?
Single user toilets are an all-in-one facility complete with a toilet pan and washbasin for use by either gender. They are fully enclosed from floor to ceiling for privacy and doors tend to open off a corridor or communal area to save space. I usually specify mirrors and bins to finish them off too but not normally urinals although am more than happy to do so should the customer require them.
I have listed the compelling reasons to opt for single user toilets below:
1. Space Saving
2. Cost Reduction
3. Pleasant Experience
4. Gender Equality
1. Space saving
While single user toilets increase the private space per cubicle, the reduction in communal area taken (circulation space around sinks is no longer required) reduces space taken up overall. It is the ideal option when a stylish, compact solution is required. Furthermore, fewer toilets are needed overall as the slack required can be shared. Thanks to their self-contained nature, individual cubicles can be sometimes be fitted into dead space around the building, subject to plumbing supply.
Below is a table produced by the HSE which shows how many single user toilets you should provide based upon the numbers of staff that you employ. If you employed 40 staff (20 male and 20 female), you would be required to provide either: 2no male toilets and 2no female toilets or 3no gender neutral facilities.
2. Cost Reduction
If you require less sanitaryware you will, quite simply, be reducing your costs. Furthermore, if you are renting premises, the less space you are paying for to be occupied by washrooms will be saving you money too. In many cases, it is possible to use simpler commodity items and reduce costs in this way too.
3. Pleasant Experience
The increased privacy and personal attention that you grant to your staff can only make for a more pleasant experience rather than giving them the feeling of being processed like animals in identical hutches. Furthermore, with the greater flexibility that single user toilets offer, you are less likely to be kept waiting for one to become available.
NP: In today’s busy world, a number of staff cycle into work and these facilities can be used for changing and a wash and brush up before business meetings/appointments. This helps to promote a healthier lifestyle without increasing square meterage occupied.
4. Gender Equality
With the topic of Gender equality particularly in focus at the moment after Iceland have just made it illegal to pay women less than men, the provision of single user toilets could be timely.
In public spaces, there is a practical advantage for parents to easily accompany children of the opposite gender to the toilet too. It reduces the likelihood of leaving them unattended.
