The Dog Friendly Workplace Standard (RDWS-01)

0. Purpose and Principle

This is the constitutional document for the dog friendly workplace. It is the third member of the Roch Dog family of standards. The Dog Friendly Standard (RDFS) certifies where a dog stays as a guest. The Roch Dog Residence Standard (RDRS) certifies where a dog lives as a resident. This standard, RDWS, certifies where a dog spends the working day: the office or comparable workplace its owner brings it to.

The standard exists to close a gap that nobody else has closed. "Dog friendly office" has become a recruitment and culture claim that employers make loudly and verify never. The field around it is crowded with self-declared registries, product-tied marketing badges and single-day campaigns, and empty of any independent, evidence-based standard. No regulator and no standards body anywhere has yet defined what a dog friendly workplace must actually do. The result is predictable: dogs kept in environments that do not suit them, and colleagues who are allergic, asthmatic, frightened of dogs or otherwise unable to share space with one quietly overridden, until the resentment builds and the policy is scrapped.

The standard rests on a single principle with two halves that must both hold. A dog friendly workplace welcomes dogs and provides properly for them, and it does so without forcing any colleague into proximity with a dog against a genuine medical or comparable need. Welcoming the dog is not enough on its own, and neither is protecting the people who opt out. Both are required. A workplace that admits dogs by a manager's favour, excludes them by breed or size, or rides over the staff who object is not dog friendly under this standard, however it describes itself.

The standard is written to hold in every jurisdiction. It states outcomes that an employee, a dog owner and a colleague can each verify, not the law of any one country. Where local law requires more of an employer, the employer follows the law. Where local law requires less, meeting this standard means going beyond the local minimum.

This standard is published openly to read. Anyone may read it, understand it, and cite it, free of charge. But reading the standard is not adopting it, and confers no right to claim any association with it. A workplace is placed in relation to this standard only through Roch Dog, by certification or under a Roch Dog licence; the standard and the mark are never self-declared. Use of the standard and the mark is set out at section 7; the relationship to law at section 8.

1. Definition

Under this standard, a dog friendly workplace is an employer that, in respect of a place of work where employees may bring their own dogs during the working day:

permits dogs as a matter of published policy, not individual discretion;
applies its dog-related terms clearly, consistently, and without ad hoc exception;
does not exclude ordinary household dogs through blanket breed, size, or weight restrictions;
provides, or permits the owner to provide, the conditions a dog needs to spend the working day safely and well;
protects colleagues who cannot share space with a dog, through a genuine consent process and dog-free areas; and
complies with, and openly discloses, any restriction imposed by applicable law.

"Dog friendly" under this standard means predictable access, transparent terms, consistent and criteria-based treatment, provision for the dog's welfare, and real protection for those who opt out. Informal permissions, blanket breed or size bans, marketing that outruns the actual terms, and arrangements that override an objecting colleague do not meet this definition.

2. Minimum Requirements

To be certified, an employer must meet all of the following. Assessment is binary: failure of any single requirement is a Not Certified outcome. There are no partial passes and no public scores. Requirements are grouped under three pillars. This standard states the outcome each requirement must achieve; where a requirement turns on a measurable condition, the threshold by which it is assessed is held in the Workplace Certification and Assessment Framework, not in this standard.

Pillar A: Fair and Transparent Terms

A1. Published dog policy. A clear dog policy is written down and accessible to staff before the question of bringing a dog arises, stating the terms on which dogs are kept at work.
A2. Dogs accepted on consistent, published criteria. Dogs are admitted as a normal part of the workplace, not as a personal favour. Any decision on a particular dog, whether approval, conditions or refusal, is made against published criteria and applied consistently to comparable cases. The criteria must themselves be reasonable and relevant to a dog's actual behaviour and suitability for the workplace; criteria framed so as to exclude ordinary household dogs, however evenly they are applied, do not meet this requirement. Assessing an individual dog on its behaviour is allowed; admission that turns on management discretion, seniority or special pleading is not.
A3. No blanket breed or size exclusion. A dog is judged on its individual behaviour, not excluded by a blanket breed, size or weight rule. A restriction imposed by applicable law, or one genuinely required by the employer's own insurance or lease, meets this requirement only where it is real, complied with, disclosed to staff, and its basis identified (see section 8). What it may not be is a pretextual blanket ban dressed up as a constraint. An employer must carry insurance that covers the dogs it admits and may not admit dogs its own cover excludes; the answer to a narrow policy is a better policy, not a hidden ban.
A4. Transparent process. Any decision on whether a dog may be brought to work is made within a stated, reasonable timeframe, and any refusal is given in writing with reasons. An employer may not avoid this requirement by handling dog requests informally or off the record.
A5. Honest and stable terms. The employer's public and internal description of itself as dog friendly matches its actual published terms and practice. The terms in force are honoured, and a change to them is made openly and with reasonable notice, not imposed retrospectively on an owner already relying on them.

Pillar B: Welfare

This pillar is built on the Five Domains of animal welfare recognised in welfare science: nutrition, physical environment, health, behaviour and mental state. An employer does not feed a dog or provide its veterinary care, which remain the owner's responsibility. It shapes the domains within its control: a safe place to spend the day, freedom from avoidable hazards, and the conditions a dog needs to stay physically comfortable and mentally settled through a working day. The requirements below address those domains.

B1. Water and a place to settle. Clean drinking water is available to a dog through the working day, and the dog has a defined space in which to rest and settle rather than being confined at a desk or underfoot for hours.
B2. Safe physical environment. The areas a dog uses are free of foreseeable hazards, with attention to flooring, temperature, toxic plants or substances, and trip and crowding risks in shared circulation.
B3. Relief and exercise. Owners have practical access during the working day to a suitable place for a dog to relieve itself and stretch its legs, whether on site or within reasonable proximity to open space.
B4. Breaks and natural behaviour. The working pattern allows a dog regular breaks away from the desk, and the workplace permits, rather than penalises, an owner stepping away to meet the dog's needs.
B5. Relief from stress. Conditions known to distress a dog in a busy shared space, such as sustained noise and crowding, are reasonably mitigated, a quiet retreat is available, and a dog showing signs of acute stress is removed from the floor rather than left to endure it.
B6. Removal of a dog that poses a risk. A dog that behaves dangerously towards people or other dogs is removed from the workplace, and may not remain on the strength of its owner's wish alone. The safety of the people and animals sharing the workplace comes before any individual dog's attendance.

Pillar C: Co-worker Protection

A workplace is shared. The provision a dog friendly employer makes for dogs must not come at the cost of the colleagues who cannot, or choose not to, share space with one. This pillar protects them, and it is the pillar a home does not need.

C1. Genuine consent before dogs. Before dogs are admitted, the employer runs a confidential check that lets any member of staff object without having to identify themselves or explain a medical condition to a manager. Consent is sought, not assumed from silence.
C2. A real opt-out that prevails. Where a colleague in a shared space has a genuine medical, allergic, phobic or comparable reason not to be near a dog, that shared space is kept dog-free. A single genuine objection is enough; the person prevails over the companion dog, not the other way round. This applies to companion dogs only. It does not override an animal the employer is required to accommodate under applicable law, such as an assistance or service animal. Where a colleague's objection and such an animal cannot both be met in the same space, the conflict is resolved through the legal accommodation process, not by this requirement (see section 8).
C3. Dog-free areas. Areas where dogs do not belong are defined and kept genuinely separate: anywhere food is prepared or eaten, first-aid and medical rooms, quiet and prayer rooms, and any space an opted-out colleague needs to use. Separation is real, not a sign on a door.
C4. A live, not one-off, mechanism. Staff have a standing route to raise a concern about dogs after the policy is in place, not just at launch, and the employer acts on what it hears.

3. Disqualifications

A claim to be a dog friendly workplace under this standard is disqualified where an employer:

permits dogs only by favour, prior request or individual discretion rather than as published policy;
imposes blanket breed, size or weight restrictions that exclude ordinary household dogs, other than a restriction required and disclosed under applicable law;
fails to publish a clear and current dog policy;
has no genuine consent process for staff, or overrides colleagues who object on medical or comparable grounds;
permits dogs into areas where food is prepared or eaten, contrary to food-hygiene law;
describes itself as dog friendly in a way its published terms or its actual practice contradict;
holds no insurance covering dog-related incidents in the workplace;
operates no behavioural, health, vaccination or parasite-control requirement for dogs admitted to the workplace; or
applies its dog-related terms inconsistently, selectively or at staff discretion.

4. Responsibility and Limitations

Roch Dog defines and publishes this standard and assesses employers against it on the basis of published terms, employer-supplied evidence, observable practice, and corroboration sought directly from nominated dog-owning employees, all at the time of assessment. Roch Dog does not visit the workplace and does not control its day-to-day operation, individual management decisions, or the conduct, health or welfare of any dog, employee or visitor. Certification is not a guarantee of any individual's experience, of safety, or of suitability for any particular dog. Employers remain responsible for legal compliance, for the welfare of dogs on their premises, and for the safety of staff and visitors; dog owners remain responsible for the care and supervision of their dogs. Where ambiguity arises, Roch Dog's interpretation of this standard prevails, informed by the intent of the definition and the welcomed-and-protected principle.

5. Scope

This standard applies to an employer in respect of a workplace where employees may bring their own companion dogs to work during the working day. It covers offices and comparable places of work where people are employed and dogs accompany them.

It does not apply to the home, where a dog lives as a resident; that falls under the Roch Dog Residence Standard (RDRS). It does not apply to accommodation or hospitality where a dog stays or visits as a guest or customer; that falls under the Dog Friendly Standard (RDFS). It does not govern working dogs, such as security, detection, assistance or therapy animals deployed in their working role, whose treatment is set by other rules and, in the case of assistance and service animals, by law. The dividing line is the relationship: this standard is about an employee's own companion dog accompanying them to their place of work.

6. Meaning of Certification

Certification indicates that an employer met the minimum requirements of this standard, for the assessed workplace, at the time of assessment. It attests conformance with a baseline definitional standard. It is not a quality rating, a ranking, an endorsement of any individual experience, or a guarantee of suitability for every dog or every colleague.

Certification is an act performed by Roch Dog, not a status an employer may claim for itself. It is granted only by Roch Dog, or by an assessor Roch Dog has licensed, following an assessment, and it is never self-declared. No employer may describe a workplace as certified, or display the certification mark, without having been assessed and certified by Roch Dog. Certification is time-limited and may be withdrawn if the minimum requirements are no longer met.

7. Use of the Standard and the Mark

The standard is open to read, closed to claim. The document is published free of charge so that anyone may read, understand, cite, and teach it. Roch Dog remains the author and steward; the canonical text is maintained by Roch Dog and may not be altered and re-published as the standard.

Reading or understanding the standard is not adoption, and confers no right to claim any association with it. An employer does not become "built to", "designed to", "aligned with", "following", or "operating to" the standard by reading it, and may not describe a workplace that way. There is no self-declared tier.

Use of the standard and the mark is by Roch Dog authorisation only. A workplace is placed in relation to this standard only through Roch Dog: either by certification, or under a Roch Dog licence. To enquire about certifying or licensing a workplace, contact Roch Dog. Until authorised, an employer may state only facts about its own dog policy, with no reference to the standard, its name, or its marks.

The mark is closed. The right to describe a workplace as Roch Dog Workplace Certified, and to display the certification mark, seal, or badge, arises only from a current authorisation granted by Roch Dog. The mark is a trademark of Roch Dog Inc. Use of the mark, or any claim of certified status, without a current Roch Dog authorisation is a misuse of the Roch Dog marks and is enforced.

8. Relationship to Applicable Law

This standard is a definitional minimum that operates above, and independently of, the law of any jurisdiction.

Law as a floor. Where applicable law requires more of an employer, in employment, health and safety, or food hygiene, the employer must meet the law. Meeting the law alone does not confer certification; the requirements of this standard must also be met.
Exceeding a weak floor. Where applicable law permits less than this standard, an employer meets this standard only by going beyond the local minimum.
Comply and disclose. A restriction an employer applies because the law requires it, such as a breed restriction under breed-specific legislation or a food-hygiene exclusion, meets this standard only where it is complied with and openly disclosed, with the legal basis identified.
Protection of colleagues comes first where law requires it. Where the law requires an employer to accommodate a member of staff, for example an employee with a disability, an allergy or another protected characteristic, this standard reinforces that duty and never cuts across it. Pillar C states an outcome that sits alongside those duties, not in place of them.
Assistance and service animals. The rights of assistance and service animals, and of any animal an employer is required by law to accommodate, are governed by applicable law and sit outside and above this standard. Nothing here limits those rights. An employer must accommodate such animals as the law requires, free of the terms in this standard. In an employment context this protection is not limited to narrowly defined service animals; where the law treats an animal as a reasonable accommodation, this standard defers to that.

Because the standard states outcomes rather than legal rules, it does not require revision when a law changes. Jurisdiction-specific detail is maintained separately in the Roch Dog workplace legal mapping, which is updated as the law develops and does not alter this standard.

9. Versioning and Governance

This document constitutes RDWS-01, the Roch Dog Workplace Standard. Revisions are issued as new version numbers and are not applied retroactively. Roch Dog maintains stewardship, interpretation and periodic review. Review or revision is undertaken only in response to a material change in the standard's intent, demonstrated ambiguity in application, or evidence of widespread misrepresentation. The supporting documents, the Workplace Certification and Assessment Framework, the defined terms, the workplace legal mapping and the public explainer, may evolve without altering this standard.

Technical thresholds and the mechanics of assessment are deliberately held in the supporting documents, not in this constitutional standard, so that the standard remains stable while specifications and law evolve.

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Appendix (working note, not part of the constitutional standard): Assessment and Verification

This summarises the verification model agreed for the Workplace Certification and Assessment Framework. It is recorded here for review and will move into the framework document when that is built. It is not part of the standard text above.

No site visit. Certification is evidence-based. The employer applies and submits an evidence pack: the written dog policy, anonymised and aggregated evidence that the confidential consent check was run and its outcome, a declaration of welfare provision backed by photographs and a simple floor plan showing dog-free zone separation, the insurance certificate covering the dogs admitted, and the policy showing a behavioural, health and vaccination requirement is in place.
Kali cross-check. Kali checks the submitted evidence against anything the employer states publicly and flags contradictions.
Owner corroboration calls. The employer nominates a minimum of three dog-owning employees, or all of them where fewer than three, who have agreed to a short call. Kali calls them to corroborate Pillars A and B. These calls do not verify Pillar C, since dog owners are not the colleagues Pillar C protects; Pillar C rests on the documented consent process and the revoke-on-complaint mechanism.
No health data reaches Roch Dog. Roch Dog never receives any individual's name tied to a medical condition, allergy or phobia. The confidential consent check stays anonymous, the employer retains any health information on its own legal basis, and only the anonymous, aggregated outcome reaches Roch Dog. Identifiable health data must never be placed in the evidence pack. The employer designs and runs its own consent check; Roch Dog neither designs nor hosts it, so Roch Dog does not become a joint controller of that data.
Behaviour and health gate. The behavioural, health and vaccination requirement, including basic parasite control, accepts any recognised national scheme (for example a Kennel Club Good Citizen scheme, its national equivalent, or a veterinary sign-off). No single national scheme is mandated.
Insurance. The employer must carry insurance covering dog-related incidents in the workplace. An individual owner's personal cover is welcome but is not the gate.
Binary and time-limited. Outcome is Certified or Not Certified. A certificate is valid for two years, then re-verified.
Integrity. The employer signs a declaration that the evidence is true. Roch Dog may request further evidence and may revoke certification on misrepresentation or on a credible complaint.