Periods, toilets and gig work

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The three collisions

Periods and gig work collide on pain, bleeding and toilets.

Pain. Cramps, headaches, back pain, heavy flow days. On a Deliveroo saddle that is pelvic pressure for six hours. In an Uber seat that is reduced concentration and slower reactions. On Flex that is heavy lifting you should not be doing on a cramp-six day.

Bleeding. Heavy days mean changing pads or tampons every couple of hours. Without toilet access you stretch them beyond safe times, which risks leaks, infection and, at the extreme, toxic shock risk from over-worn tampons.

Toilets. The biggest structural issue. Restaurants, warehouses and offices treat you as "just a rider" or a non-customer. Platforms treat you as self-employed. Nobody wants to own the duty.

What HSE actually says

HSE's "Access to welfare facilities at work" guidance says workers who visit worksites as part of their work, explicitly including drivers making deliveries and collections, must be given safe and easy access to welfare facilities such as toilets and handwashing facilities on site. Refusing access is against the law.

HSE's general toilet guidance says employers must provide enough toilets and washbasins, separate facilities for women where needed, and somewhere to dispose of sanitary products.

In practice the duty sits with whoever controls the site, not the app. So if Deliveroo sends you to a big chain restaurant that refuses toilet access, the breach is the restaurant's. You can report to HSE, and a union like IWGB or ADCU will back you.

Supermarkets, petrol stations and cafés open to the public can still say "customers only", which is legal but foul. Build your own map of sites that do the right thing, and use those on heavy days.

Period poverty and costs

The "tampon tax" was scrapped on 1 January 2021. VAT on period products is zero-rated across the UK. Retailers do not have to pass on the full saving, so the shelf price is still a real number. If you are earning £180 a week on an e-bike, paying rent and running a phone, period products compete with petrol and food.

Free period product schemes run through some councils, food banks, schools and community hubs. National charities maintain lists. If you are regularly rationing pads or tampons, look for a local women's centre or food bank with a period products programme, and speak to your GP if pain is severe enough to need prescription relief.

Pain management on the job

You can take over-the-counter painkillers if medically safe for you. Check with a pharmacist if you drive for a living, because some stronger codeine-based options affect driving ability. Avoid heavy alcohol-and-painkiller combinations. Heat patches can help without affecting concentration. Shorter shifts on heavy days cost you less than a crash or a collapse at a restaurant does.

When to get help

• NHS 111 for severe pain, unusually heavy bleeding or fainting.
• Your GP for cycle changes, severe cramps, or suspected endometriosis.
• Local women's centres for period products and support.
• Bloody Good Period bloodygoodperiod.com for period product access.
• HSE reporting if a workplace refuses visiting-worker toilet access.

Action steps

• Build a toilet map for your main patch. Tag sites that honour HSE rules.
• On heavy days, shorten shifts and avoid long Uber back-to-backs or steep-hill Deliveroo chains.
• Carry spare products, painkillers you know are safe for driving, and a clean change.
• Log refusals: date, site, name, what was said. Report repeat offenders to HSE.
• If you ration products regularly, find a local free-products programme.
• See a GP if pain is changing your life or your work pattern.

Related guides

• Perimenopause cycle changes
• Toilet access in full
• VAT zero-rating and what it did not fix

Last reviewed

19 April 2026