Work won't let me have water...

[Tee25]

Hey everyone, question for you. I just started a very part time cashier job and breaks are 15 min long every 4 hours. They are saying they don't allow employees to have water at their checkout lanes so I can only drink on break. I am ebfing my dd and usually drink lots of water throughout the day and I know when I don't get enough, I get a really bad headache.

I guess my question is about supply...will this affect it? I've never really limited my water intake before...especially not drinking anything for 4 hours. Would you pressure them into letting you have water at your station when the other employees don't get to?

[rlmueller]

Yeah!

I'd pressure for special circumstance + ped or Dr. note if possible.

[beckyand3littlemonsters]

i don't drink a lot of water actually i harly ever drink water and have never had supply issues, however if you know you get bad headaches when you don't drink enough water then yes you should pressure them to let you have water, maybe see if you could have maybe a sports bottle of water so you don't get dehydrated.

[Ruthla]

Yes, I'd request an exeption to the rule, for medical reasons. I'd request to either get more breaks, or be allowed to have a plastic water bottle that you keep under the "desk" where it won't get mixed up with the things you're ringing up. When I was a cashier, we were allowed to have beverages with us, but not foods.

4 hours is a very long time to go without a drink. When I was nursing, I didn't even go that long without water overnight- I kept a cup or bottle of water by my bed. If they REALLY don't want to allow water bottles at the registers, then see if they can let you take a 5 minute break after 2 hours (2 hours without a drink is reasonable, although not ideal.) Ideal is to keep water with you and take small sips every 15-30 minutes.

[lifeguard]

Sounds like they are trying to limit unscheduled bathroom breaks. Honestly it's pretty unreasonable imo to not allow water - even if you did spill it no real harm done. I'd push.

[Sarahstw]

uhm... is that legal?
Sounds like some kind of basic human rights violation to me... but what do I know?

[dawningmama]

Do you have a union? I would definitely ask a union rep about that. If you don't have a union, I think a doctor note would likey suffice.

[kriket]

Originally Posted by Sarahstw

uhm... is that legal?
Sounds like some kind of basic human rights violation to me... but what do I know?

ITA, limiting water that's insane? Even when I was working in food service we were allowed to grab drinks whenever we wanted.

what's next. No exhaling on the customers? You have to do all your breathing between orders.

You could keep a flask in your pocket and take swigs when no one's looking!

[Tee25]

lol thanks for your replies everyone. I did think it was a little extreme, guess I'm not the only one. Apparently an employee spilled water on one of the computers...therefore it ruins it for the rest of us...so dumb in my opinion.

[rhiandmoi]

In California, I am pretty sure this would be against the law. Don't know about MN, but they have similar employee welfare laws. Here they can limit where you can have water, but not when. I know this would definitely be true if there was any risk of heat stress from the job, but I don't know about generally. I second the suggestion of contacting the union, many health conditions require frequent drinks of water.

[Ellien C]

Totally push for water. Have your doctor write a note if you need to. That's ridiculous - you need more than average.

I'm sure you can arrange some kind of spill-proof sippy cup or something that will ease their attention. Even the ARMY lets you have water and bathroom breaks whenever needed. Not doing it leads to heat-casualties and UTIs. Really not good for training. If you get sick it will be much worse for work.

[Purple*Lotus]

When I was a cashier I was on medication that caused ridiculous thirst. I got a doctor's note. My Boss laughed at it, but techincally they had to let me have my water.