Health and Safety at Work

[Bagafun]

Hiya! This is a very long thread, sorry. But please read if you think you can offer advice as I badly need some!

 

I joined my company two years ago and was immediately placed in a job below my grade. It was not the job I had applied for, the reason I was given for being placed here was staff shortages and increased workload. The type of work exacerbated my back problem, which my employers were aware of from the medical questionnaire I completed when I applied for the position. Although I had always had a back problem, for the first time in my life my GP began to prescribe painkillers as my work was worsening my condition and I was regularly in pain. I was sent for an Occupational Health Assessment (OH) and my employers chose to completely ignore the recommendations from the OH nurse. They also failed to perform the desk assessment which is supposed to be performed by an OH physio. This led to a workplace injury which had me off work for 3 months. I had physiotherapy and instead of sending my sick certificates in, I chose to take them in myself, this way I could report on my progress etc. (The injury was to an upper limb).

 

During the time I was sick, I was constantly harassed and had my story questioned over and over again, brought into the office to sign statements of the incident, and it was never reported to RIDDOR. However, I was not kept informed of any developments whilst absent. Despite all of this I was keen to return to work and returned on part time medical grounds. (I suggested this myself) My employers were not happy when my GP chose to keep me on part time medical grounds for a total of 6 weeks and tried to see if they could "force" me to return full time. It might also be worth mentioning that the workplace flexible time rules changed during the time I was absent, a vote was held. I was not told of this and lost my right to vote. I would have voted against it.

 

After the 6 weeks I returned full time and was referred again to Occupational Health. My manager put half truths on the referral form, she kept insinuating that my injury could have been as a result of a job I previously did (ten years ago!!) and I refused to sign it until it was rectified. I also got a letter from my GP stating that I had never presented with this type of injury prior to the date of injury. I had to fight for injury leave and was threatened with dismissal as I had been absent for longer than the statutory period of one week! If I didn’t get injury leave I would have been dismissed. Thankfully I received the injury leave.

 

The OH physio came about my upper limb injury. I explained to him that I still had not had the desk assessment for my back. He was great, did the two assessments in one, and measured my desk etc, noted it was unsuitable as was the chair. At this point I was due to transfer to another area within the workplace. Having never worked in that area I had no idea what the work entailed so the physio spoke to my manager and the manager of the new area. Having spoken to them, the physio said the work was not suitable to my condition (repetitive and static work, risk of strain) so management had to consider a position which would be suitable. They could think of only one role which would be suited to my position, which is the role I am in now. (And the role I originally applied for)

 

I began in my current role. I received my new chair but the adjustable desk that was recommended never materialised. I have been in my current position for roughly 7 months, during which I've hardly needed medication at all; in fact I have never had a prescription since about a month into new position. I still have the occasional twinge in my back and my upper limb will never fully recover and can be painful at times but it's managable. My new manager has asked on more than one occasion if my “problem” is “official” – I told him yes, it has been done through their own Occupational Health Team and the paperwork for it should be in my personnel file and if it’s not, I have a copy in my desk.

Today I was told completely out of the blue that I'm to be moved to another role. One which will undoubtedly affect my condition.

 

I raised my concerns and my manager’s boss disagreed, stating she thought it to be the best place for me. (She has no medical qualification as far as I am aware). I relayed things to her that were written in my OH report and she doesn't seem to think it matters because the report does not specifically state which job I can or cannot do, it states the type of work and she refuses to acknowledge that this is exactly the type of work which will aggravate my condition. (She has obviously never read the report as she had to ask me what it said). She insists that the position is not static but it is as many of my colleagues who work there often complain about how restrictive it is, the term of phrase “chained to the desk” gets used a lot and it has been said that anyone out of their seat is questioned. Because of my condition I need to be able to alternate sitting with being mobile, I cannot be sat down for a period longer than 50 minutes, at a push. The work also involves extreme repetitive typing (constant for the whole day, no other task) which again is a big no-no. I have been told by manager’s boss that allowances will be made but I don’t believe a word of it as I have seen them do this before to many colleagues.

 

They did a similar thing to a colleague a year ago and she now can never work again. She had to fight for medical retirement. They will only reassess me through OH once my condition worsens. By then it's too damn late!!

 

I informed her that I would be looking for another job as the type of work she is placing me in is detrimental to my health, it is also similar to the type of work in a higher grade and I did not apply for promotion because of my condition, if I thought I was capable medically I would have applied for that job. A manager asked at the time why I did not apply and I outright said because it would worsen my condition. She more or less said that if I want to leave, it's up to me. I asked for the reason I am being moved and it's because new recruits are coming in and they will be placed in my role. This is despite the fact that since I arrived on this team I have improved greatly the processes. Nice to know I'm valued, eh?

If anyone needs to ask questions to get a clearer picture, ask away, I really need some advice on this one!

Edited October 2, 2008 by Bagafun
Edited to paragraph in order to make the thread more readable.

[tiglet]

Bump

[bazak1]

This certainly seems to be discrimination at first look.

Discrimination can be either direct or indirect. Direct discrimination occurs when a person is treated less favourably at work because of their sex, race, religion, age, sexuality or DISABILITY.

Some people don’t realise that impairments such as back pain can count as a disability if the adverse effect on the individual is substantial and long-term.

In the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 Code of Practice on Employment and Occupation there are case studies to help.

Disability-related discrimination is when a disabled person is treated less favourably for a disability-related reason and the treatment cannot be justified.

 

Making reasonable adjustments

 

Employers are required to make 'reasonable adjustments' to jobs and workplaces for disabled workers. This is to ensure disabled people have equal opportunities in applying for and staying in work.

Reasonable adjustments may include:

 

• adjustments to the workplace to improve access or layout;
  
• giving some of the disabled person’s duties to another person, eg employing a temp;
  
• transferring the disabled person to fill a vacancy;
  
• changing the working hours, eg flexi-time, job-share, starting later or finishing earlier;
  
• time off, eg for treatment, assessment, rehabilitation;
  
• training for disabled workers and their colleagues;
  
• getting new or adapting existing equipment, eg chairs, desks, computers, vehicles;
  
• modifying instructions or procedures, eg by providing written material in bigger text or in Braille;
  
• improving communication, eg providing a reader or interpreter, having visual as well as audible alarms;
  
• providing alternative work (this should usually be a last resort).
  

I would certainly go down this road first and see what the outcome is.

 

Try acas.org.uk for further help.

Good luck.