Brave loo world
In interest of Health and Safety, Lloyds offers toilet training to foreign workersUK bank Lloyds has put up wall displays at several of its offices advising foreign employees how to use the loo, according to the Daily Mail.
The posters use written instructions and diagrams to explain British toilet etiquette to overseas staff, with advice ranging from ‘please sit on the toilet and do not stand on it’ to ‘please flush the toilet after use with your hand and not your foot’.
They also explain that toilet paper should be flushed down the toilet rather than put in the bin, while conversely plastic cups should be thrown in the bin and not down the toilet. Other tips include not leaving loo roll on the door handle, not washing your feet in the sink and not using toilet paper or paper towels as a plug.
The aim is to educate workers who come from world regions with different toilet habits. In much of Europe and Asia, for example, squat-style toilets are still commonplace, while in parts of South America it is common to put used loo paper in the bin rather than down the toilet, as few homes have drainage systems advanced enough to handle it. A Lloyds Bank spokesperson said: “We take the health and safety of our colleagues very seriously.”
According to the Mail, Lloyds is not the first company to implement toilet training for employees, with firms across the UK reportedly displaying similar instructions.
However, other employers have chosen to cater for foreign workers’ habits rather than trying to change them. Another Mail story tells how a DHL warehouse in Swindon recently installed a squat toilet because staff from Eastern Europe kept breaking the sit-down loo by standing on it.
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