Workplace Locker Layout Guide UK: Sizes, Staff Flow and Shift Planning

Workplace locker layout planning is about more than fitting lockers against an available wall. Locker size, compartment configuration, staff movement, shift patterns, door clearance, benches and circulation space all affect whether a staff storage area works properly in daily use.

An office may need compact personal storage for bags, coats and laptops, while a factory or warehouse may need larger lockers for uniforms, PPE, boots and workwear. The correct workplace locker layout therefore starts with the people using the lockers and what they actually need to store.

This guide explains how to plan workplace locker sizes and layouts for offices, factories, warehouses, staff welfare areas, changing rooms and other UK workplaces.

For the wider specification process, see our Workplace Lockers UK guide. For general locker dimensions across different applications, see our locker size guide.

Quick Answer: How Should Workplace Lockers Be Laid Out?

Start by identifying what staff need to store and how many people will use the lockers at the busiest time. Choose a locker size and compartment configuration that suits those belongings, then position the lockers while allowing for open doors, standing users, benches, circulation routes and cleaning access.

1. Identify the staff groups using the lockers.
2. List the belongings, clothing, PPE and equipment they need to store.
3. Choose suitable locker sizes and compartment configurations.
4. Establish peak attendance and shift overlap.
5. Measure the complete usable room.
6. Position locker banks around natural staff movement.
7. Allow for locker depth and open-door projection.
8. Provide sufficient standing and circulation space.
9. Add benches where staff change clothing or footwear.
10. Consider PPE and clean/dirty storage requirements.
11. Keep entrances, exits and principal routes clear.
12. Allow for cleaning, maintenance and future replacement.

Start With What Staff Actually Need to Store

The correct workplace locker size cannot be determined from staff numbers alone. The locker must first be large enough for the items employees regularly bring to work or need during their shift.

Typical workplace storage requirements can include:

• coats and outdoor clothing;
• handbags and backpacks;
• laptop bags;
• uniforms and overalls;
• high-visibility clothing;
• safety footwear;
• helmets;
• PPE;
• tools and work equipment;
• phones, wallets and other personal belongings.

Where practical, measure representative items rather than estimating. Bags, boots and helmets can determine the minimum useful locker compartment size more accurately than simply choosing a cabinet from its external dimensions.

Choosing Workplace Locker Sizes

Increasing the number of compartments within a fixed locker cabinet increases user capacity but reduces the storage space available to each person. The most efficient locker is therefore not necessarily the one with the greatest number of doors.

Locker configuration	Typical workplace use	Main consideration
Single tier	Coats, uniforms, PPE, larger bags and workwear	Maximum storage space per user but lower user density
Two tier	Bags, folded clothing and general staff storage	Good balance between capacity and compartment size
Three or four tier	Personal belongings and smaller bags	Check actual bag dimensions before specifying
Five or six tier	Compact personal and day-use storage	Generally unsuitable for bulky clothing or larger bags
Z locker	Workwear and hanging garments	Combines hanging space with increased user capacity
Divided or clean-and-dirty locker	Personal clothing and workwear separation	Suitable where different clothing needs separate storage areas

Do not choose a small multi-tier compartment simply because it allows more locker doors to fit into the room. If employees cannot fit their normal belongings inside, the apparent increase in capacity is lost in practice.

Balance Locker Size Against Room Capacity

Larger compartments provide more useful storage but reduce the number of users that can be accommodated within a given wall length. Smaller compartments increase theoretical capacity but may be unsuitable for the belongings staff actually carry.

A practical workplace locker specification balances:

• individual storage requirements;
• number of users;
• available wall length;
• locker width and depth;
• room width;
• door opening space;
• bench requirements;
• peak-time movement;
• future capacity.

Measure the Complete Room, Not Just the Wall

A common workplace locker planning mistake is measuring an empty wall and calculating how many lockers will fit along it. That only confirms that the cabinets physically fit. It does not establish whether people can use them effectively.

Record the full room and all fixed obstructions, including:

• room length, width and height;
• doors and their opening direction;
• windows;
• columns;
• radiators;
• pipework;
• electrical equipment and sockets;
• fixed furniture;
• fire and escape routes;
• bench locations;
• building services requiring maintenance access.

The final locker layout needs to work around these features rather than treating the room as an empty rectangle.

Locker Depth and Open-Door Projection

Locker depth affects both storage capacity and the usable width of the room. A deeper locker may be necessary for larger bags, hanging clothing or PPE, but every increase in cabinet depth reduces the circulation space available in front of it.

The working projection also needs to account for the locker door when open and the person standing in front of the locker.

With opposing locker banks, consider the possibility that lockers on both sides will be accessed simultaneously. A central aisle that appears generous with every door closed can become restricted during a busy shift change.

For detailed planning, see our locker depth guide.

Staff Flow in Workplace Locker Areas

Staff flow is the route employees take when arriving, reaching their locker, storing or collecting belongings, changing if necessary and moving into the workplace.

Locker banks should support this movement rather than forcing people across each other’s routes.

• Avoid positioning heavily used lockers immediately inside doorways.
• Keep principal circulation routes clear.
• Avoid narrow dead ends where users can become trapped behind open locker doors.
• Position frequently accessed storage near the natural staff route where practical.
• Keep PPE close to the point where staff need to collect or return it where appropriate.
• Separate areas where people stop from routes primarily used for movement.

Plan Workplace Lockers for Peak Shift Changes

A workplace locker area should be planned around its busiest realistic period rather than its average daily occupancy.

Factories, warehouses and other shift-based workplaces can experience concentrated demand when one shift finishes as another starts. During these periods, several lockers may be open simultaneously while employees change footwear, handle bags, collect PPE and use benches.

When testing the layout, ask:

• How many employees arrive together?
• Do shifts overlap?
• How many lockers may be open simultaneously?
• Do staff change clothing?
• Do staff need to sit while changing footwear?
• Are bags or workwear temporarily placed outside lockers?
• Can other users still pass comfortably?
• Are entrances and exits clear during peak activity?

Assigned and Shared Workplace Lockers

The way lockers are allocated affects both the number required and the most appropriate layout.

Allocation	Typical application	Planning effect
Assigned lockers	Permanent employees, uniforms, footwear or belongings left on site	Capacity generally follows the number of assigned users
Shared lockers	Hybrid offices, temporary day storage and variable attendance	Capacity can be based more closely on realistic peak attendance

Shared storage can reduce the overall number of lockers required where attendance genuinely varies, but the system depends on lockers being released consistently after use. Assigned lockers remain more practical where staff routinely leave uniforms, boots or equipment on site.

Office Locker Layouts

Office locker areas usually prioritise convenient access, compact personal storage and visual integration with the surrounding workplace.

Employees commonly store bags, coats, laptops and personal belongings rather than bulky industrial workwear. This can allow smaller compartments than those used in factory changing rooms, but the lockers still need to accommodate realistic commuting belongings.

Hybrid offices should normally consider peak attendance rather than total payroll headcount. Shared-use lockers can sometimes reduce the total locker requirement where the allocation process is properly managed.

For office-specific planning, see our office workplace locker fit-out guide.

Factory and Warehouse Locker Layouts

Factories and warehouses commonly need more storage space per employee because staff may carry uniforms, PPE, safety footwear, overalls and larger bags.

The main planning pressures are often:

• concentrated shift changes;
• larger locker compartments;
• boot and footwear changes;
• bench seating;
• PPE storage;
• clean and dirty separation;
• durable daily use;
• easy cleaning and maintenance.

These locker areas should be tested under realistic busy conditions rather than judged by how spacious they appear when empty.

Workplace Changing Rooms

Changing rooms create additional space requirements because users may need to open lockers, remove clothing, sit on benches, change footwear and handle PPE within the same area.

Where the project involves a dedicated staff changing area, see our workplace changing rooms guide.

Bench Seating and Workplace Locker Layout

Bench seating should be included during the initial layout rather than inserted after the locker positions have been fixed.

A bench can reduce effective aisle width considerably once seated users and open locker doors are taken into account.

• Allow locker doors to open without striking the bench.
• Provide room for users’ legs and footwear.
• Do not allow seated users to block the principal circulation route.
• Consider cleaning beneath and around the seating.
• Check whether opposing lockers remain usable while the bench is occupied.

View our changing room bench seating range when planning staff changing facilities.

PPE, Uniform and Clean-and-Dirty Storage

Where employees change into uniforms, workwear or protective clothing, the locker layout may need to support separation between personal belongings, clean garments, used workwear and PPE.

Possible solutions include:

• divided lockers;
• clean-and-dirty lockers;
• separate locker banks;
• dedicated boot storage;
• PPE storage;
• ventilated storage;
• heated drying lockers where appropriate.

For the narrower subject of workwear and protective equipment, see our PPE and uniform locker guide.

Workplace Locker Security and Position

Locker security depends partly on where lockers are positioned as well as the locking system fitted to them.

• Keep staff storage in appropriately controlled areas.
• Avoid positioning secure lockers where unauthorised visitors can easily interfere with them.
• Provide suitable lighting.
• Choose locks appropriate to assigned or shared use.
• Plan authorised management override or master-key access.
• Keep override keys and credentials appropriately controlled.

For a wider comparison of locker locking methods, see our locker locking systems guide.

Cleaning and Maintenance Access

A workplace locker layout should remain practical throughout its working life. Leave sufficient access to clean around the installation and to repair or replace locks, doors and other components.

Avoid:

• very narrow gaps between locker banks and walls;
• inaccessible corners;
• lockers blocking building services;
• layouts that make floor cleaning unnecessarily difficult;
• installations with no practical room to repair or replace individual units.

Common Workplace Locker Layout Mistakes

• Choosing lockers before establishing what employees need to store.
• Using compartments that are too small for normal bags or workwear.
• Calculating capacity from wall length alone.
• Ignoring locker depth and open-door projection.
• Planning for average attendance instead of peak use.
• Ignoring shift overlap.
• Adding benches after the locker layout has been completed.
• Positioning high-use lockers beside doorways or narrow routes.
• Using deep lockers without checking the remaining circulation space.
• Failing to provide suitable PPE or footwear storage.
• Ignoring clean and dirty separation where it is required.
• Leaving insufficient cleaning access.
• Failing to allow for maintenance or future expansion.

Workplace Locker Layout Planning Checklist

1. Identify the locker users.
2. Measure representative belongings.
3. Choose suitable locker compartment sizes.
4. Establish whether lockers will be assigned or shared.
5. Calculate peak attendance.
6. Check shift overlap.
7. Measure the complete room.
8. Mark doors, windows, services and fixed obstructions.
9. Position the locker banks.
10. Allow for locker depth and open doors.
11. Provide standing and circulation space.
12. Position benches.
13. Check PPE and clothing-separation requirements.
14. Review security and access control.
15. Check cleaning and maintenance access.
16. Allow for future capacity where practical.

Workplace Lockers from Total Locker Service

Total Locker Service supplies commercial lockers for offices, factories, warehouses, staff changing rooms and workplaces throughout the UK, together with locker locks, replacement parts and changing room bench seating.

Browse our commercial locker range or use the Workplace Lockers UK guide for the wider specification process covering locker types, materials, locks, capacity, workplace use and maintenance.

Frequently Asked Questions