§ Mr. Arthur Lewisasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he will state the actual times allowed, or taken by civil servants to wash prior to their leaving their employment; and whether any have had such time deducted from their normal working time during the past few months.
§ Mr. HayhoeInformation is not held centrally on the actual times allowed or taken by civil servants to wash up prior to their leaving their employment. The precise arrangements for starting and finishing work are a matter for decision following local negotiations and having regard for the needs of the Service.
Arrangements vary from the formal practice of allowing time in the interests of health and safety, exempli gratia in factories handling explosive materials, to the practice of delaying a visit to the cloakroom until near the end of a work session.
An agreement was reached in July 1982 with the trade unions to the conduct of reviews at a local level of washing, walking and clothing times in Government industrial establishments, the joint objective being to achieve maximum output and efficiency in the working week. The results of these reviews are not held centrally.