Employment Law – Desk size

Does anyone who actually knowas about these things know if there is a minimum desk size that employers have to provide? We’re moving to a new office on monday and I’ve been told my desk is half the size of a normal one, which quite frankly doesn’t give me enough room to do my job. I normally have a laptop, an extra screen, a phone and loads of paper on there and that’s before I start having to configure any hardware.

Thanks.

Not sure on that but, relatively recently, we got a shuffle-round changed a bit due to lack of space between desks.
Need room for access etc.

I doubt there’s a law as such – look at battery farm call centres for example.

My laptop goes on my lap/knee/toolbox etc etc

pretty certain there’s no such law regarding space although HSE might cover work areas being appropriate for the role, but again, all the Co have to do is tell you to do different space management.

There are limitations on areas around desks and for passing between etc.

Ther germans have far more prescriptive legislation regarding area, access to natual light etc.

LOL – Samuri that’s hilarious. You are joking right?

next you’ll be told the new dress code is baby oil so they can squeeze double the bodies in!

Pop down to desks are us, and buy a bigger one.

No minimum desk size – at least not the last time I looked into this for work(about 18 months ago). There is a minimum space for passages between desks. You need BS/ISO 9241.

Jesus wept…sometimes, when I’m listening’ to whatever radio station I want, and the client’s been bitchin’ at my ass, an’ I’m bustin’ a late evenin’ caws I gotta get to a point where I needin’ to be to ensure the job be done by end of the week…I long for the structured life of an office job again…then I read something like the OP…

The DSE assessment covers workspace layout, enough desk size to avoid RSI from using the computer screen. The DSE assessment is specific to you and can only be carried out by you, ie don’t be fobbed off. The welfare regs covers volume of office per person in it, lighting and ventilation/heating.

There’s plenty of room behind the desk but the amount of working room on the desk is fairly small. Plus my desk is against the wall so one arm will have nowhere to go. No natural light.

Thanks for the replies, I’ll have to try it and pull out the above standard and assessment.

Could you punch a hole in the wall?

are they trying to get rid of you ? Is the next step to replace the desk with a card table ? I’m thinking constructive dismissal…

I had a HS assessment on my work area recently and im pretty sure one of the questions covered was “do you have enough space to do your job?”

Just put all your stuff all over the floor and put laptop, screen and a brew on your desk. Subtle hinting often works…

The Eurpoean Parliament have so far been unable to enforce a minimum desk size, something to do with the French no doubt…tut tut

The only “minimum” your employer needs to ensure is adequate spacing between desks for fire evacuations etc

Wash less, fart more, stop brushing your teeth, stop changing your pants shut the windows and you’ll soon get more space. Shouldn’t take more than a couple of months IME

I wish they would try and get rid of me Simon, I’d snap their hand off if they gave me VR. Sadly not though. I’m here now and it’s more awful than I thought. The desks have a slight curve in them which forces us to sit in a certain position which leaves no room between chair backs. Me and the chap behind me keep bumping into each other. Worse than that, the desks are arranged so people sit with no gap between them and the person next to them and the person next to me is a very large and extremely loud brummie, nice chap but very loud.

The *only* improvement so far (and I’ve just been moved out of an office where we had showers, changing areas and secure bike racks – none here), is the Grade A stunning 6″1′ blond girl who sits a few desks to my right. Just bumped into her in the tiny and poorly equipped canteen, quite a nice surprise to look up at her.

, I’d snap their hand off if they gave me VR.

but it’s cheaper to have to have you leave by your own choice …

I have a vague recollection that there is some guidance from the HSE about the amount of space provided for office workers. However it’s in cubic meters rather than relating to the size of your desk.

IIRC, the minimum working volume per person in any room is 11m3 although other guidelines exist for large meeting rooms and lectures halls etc.

11m3

Absolutely no-where near that.

Hey..

Recommneded space required is 11m3 as samuri pointed out, it also states that there should be ‘adequate space for a flow of work’.. that basically means that whatever task you do, you need enough space to do it, obviously, hot desking and working solely off a laptop requires far less space that say, data input, where there is a volume of paperwork to be considered.
If you have doubts, request a DSE / workstation assessment, that’s a requirement of the DSE regs. If they don’t bother, or make a hash job of it, look on the HASAW Regs poster and give the environmental health contact a call, the can advise on this type of thing.. I’m a safety officer and it’s what I tell our staff to do if they don’t like what I tell em :o)

Absolutely no-where near that.

High ceilings? If they make the ceiling 50% higher, they can put 50% more people in the same area!

Try reading this page, i’ve just moved to smaller desk and we use 3 monitors and now we don’t have enough room for the PC’s so one has to sit under the desk where my legs should go!!

http://www.ictknowledgebase.org.uk/healthandsafety

NB Some of the legislation referred to in the last link has been superceded. PUWER and Management Regs for starters.

I lasted one whole day and decided it was unworkable. Saw a normal sized desk that was empty all day and moved all my stuff over to that. I normally start at about 7 so no-one else was in to witness the move. It’s a bit crap because now my back is to the corridor so every one walking past can see my screens (which is a problem when browsing but also since I’m in security can present issues if I’m doing confidential stuff but it’ll have to do)

Thanks for all the input, very helpful and worth bearing in mind if they try and move me back to a tiny desk.

have you never worked smoewhere where they ‘hot desk? Now that is a riot….

only thing with your desk size will be the ergonomic side of working with a computer/vdu ir how far/high the sceen, mouse area and your chair is etc.

and I am sure your productivity will increase greatly with the visibilty of your screen. 🙂 I know mine went the other way when i once got the desk that into the middle of the room and overlooked by no one!