3.2 Workspace in Offices

Relevant legislation is contained within Section 5 of the 1963 Offices, Shops and Railway Premises Act which sets out the space requirement for staff working safely. It specifies that the floor space for each person working in a room, must be of such a size that there is 3.7sq. metres of floor space in respect to each person habitually employed to work at one time in that room, or if the ceiling is less than 3m. (10ft.) eleven 11 cubic meters volume for each person. It is worth noting that the size does not apply to accommodation for visitors, eg. a student having a tutorial.

The legal requirement of an employer is that they must ensure as far as is Reasonably Practicable, the provision of a Healthy and Safe working environment. This refers to heating, lighting, seating etc.

The problem of tutorial accommodation is one that colleagues may wish clarification. Here any student visiting a tutor in their office is classified as a visitor(s) and so the workspace legislation does not apply. However, employees must appreciate that if they have a problem with their workspace, they should draw it to the attention of their line manager with an explanation as to why they think their employment conditions are unsuitable or hazardous.

Example

Taking A Standard Tutorial Room To Require Floor Space Of:

  1. An average desk = 1.125 sq.m.
  2. An average desk chair = 0.3 sq.m.
  3. An easy chair for visits = 0.42 sq.m.
  4. A filing cabinet = 0.29 sq.m.
  5. A bookcase = 0.27 sq.m.

Total floor space therefore required = 2.4 sq.m.

Free floor space available = 10.5 - 2.4 = 8.1sq.m.

This conforms to the space recommendation for one person, as set out in the above legislation.

However, if another person is accommodated in the same room, reasonable additional furniture would be:- (a), (b), (d) and (e).

This would mean an extra 1.985 sq.m. of floor space being lost, leaving 10.5 - (2.4 + 1.985) = 6.115 sq.m. free floor space.

Therefore space for each person is now = 6.115 between two = 3.06sq.m.

In this case the free space available for each occupant is now only 82.7% of what is acceptable as the minimum space recommendation required for each person and therefore not in compliance with legislation.

Overcrowding

  1. No room comprised of or constituting premises to which this Act applies shall, while work is going on therein, be so overcrowded as to cause risk of injury to the health of persons working therein. In determining whether any such room is overcrowded, regard shall be made only to the number of persons who may be expected to work in the room at any one time but also to the space in the room occupied by furniture, fittings, machinery, plant, equipment, appliances and other things (whether similar to any of those aforesaid or not);
  2. The number of persons habitually employed to work in such a room shall not be such that the quotient derived by dividing by that number, the number expresses in square metres, the area of the surface of the floor of the room is less than 3.7 or the quotient derived by dividing by the first mentioned number the number which expresses in cubic metres the capacity of the room is less than 11.

Note: Section (2) above shall not:

Revised December 1999