Workers are using bags, bottles, buckets and bushes to relieve themselves because of lack of toilet facilities at work, the TUC has revealed. But unions aren’t taking this sitting down, with organising campaigns leaving workers flushed with success.

The TUC found:

• Over half (57.8 per cent) do not always have the opportunity to use the toilet when they need to, with many citing a lack of breaks or access during shifts. These include train, bus and delivery drivers; teachers who cannot leave children unattended; and warehouse workers punished for taking time out to use the toilet.

• Nearly half (45 per cent) do not always have access to a toilet while at work, including postal workers, firefighters responding to an incident, and construction and trades workers on-site or on-call.

• A quarter (25 per cent) of those who do have access to toilets find they are either usually unclean, poorly functioning, or not fit for use.

• Less than a fifth (18.5 per cent) of respondents with a toilet at work say sanitary items (like pads or tampons) are provided by the employer.