Help Please

[Allwood]

Need to help a friend with an employer problem. My friend has been asking for days, hrs change or moved to a department with lighter duties due to a disability for over a year. Employer keep saying that this it is not possible. Friend had many meeting about this and in the end the manager asked my friend to put in an application for access to work form to assessment to be done.

 

After my friend completed this process and got an appointment for assessor to call to make an assessment and also advised manager that this would be happening very soon. The manager then said that she would see if she could get my friend move to another department.

 

This dreadful manage keep saying to my friend at a meeting that hrs or days change could be made for staff, but the next day after a meeting with the manager my friend was told by two of colleagues in the workplace that they had their hrs and days changed. This was the next days after my friend had been told at a meeting that this was not possible for staff.

 

Would this be classed as discrimination and or breach of disability act by employer?

 

Friend was told by manager at the meeting that she would make contact by phone at her home regarding the change to another department. Should it be mentioned to her about the other colleague’s hrs and day changed if this dreadful manager does make contact by phone

[Guest JoeSmith2009]

Have others been taken off the work with similar issues?

[Allwood]

As far as I am aware the colleagues that had their hrs/days changed have no disability and wanted change in days hrs for social reasons. My friend can do like other colleagues do but due to no minor adjustment beibng made by employer for nearly 18mth this has made disability worse and would like hrs or days to help with condition.

Edited September 5, 2010 by Allwood

[Sidewinder]

Hi Allwood. Your friend must lodge a Grievance as soon as possible on the basis that she feels unfairly treated. The employer must respond with justification for allowing colleagues to change their hours for apprently social reasons, when she has been consistently denied the same and now has to jump through hoops in order to assess whether she may make the same change but for reasons of disability.

[papasmurf1cx]

Hi... this does sound like Disability Discrimination. What is the disability and how would the change help your friend? I agree that a grievance should be lodged about the unfairness of it all. Your friend should detail exactly what has happened (and not happened) detailing dates and what was said and to whom. What the 'colleagues' had asked and what was given to them and for what reasons. Once we know what the disability is and the reasons for why it would help in changing what was asked for then we can detail what under the DDA the employer may have breached.

 

However your friend must be aware that when you start complaining about managers things may start to 'hot' up for your friend. Ensure your friend has Legal Protection Insurance for employment disputes in place before any grievance is put in. They cost £20 & £30 either as a stand alone policy or attached to some other insurance eg Home contents insurance.

[Allwood]

My friend had a union rep with her during the meetings and he was just drooling over the manager low cut dress. The company has started to hot up over the many letter/grievances that she has made to manager and feels now that she cannot not work theremuch longer in these conditions. She has had her salary stopped and without any explanation. She wants to take out insurance for this but does not know what or where she can get the best company for this purpose. She brought the fact that other member of staff had days, hrs changed at a meeting recently with the union rep there. The manager refute this, but the next day another colleague said that she had hrs and days changed as they did not suite her.

 

my friend is now thinking of taking time off unpaid, this was refused a couple of years ago for caring purpose but she is going to put in a request for it again and hopefully this time she will get it for 9to 6 months which is in the company's handbook hoepfully by the time she get back that dreadful manager will have been transferred.

 

It will be interesting to see if this manager will phone with details of a move to another department next week. This is only being done because the person from access to work is calling next week to make assessment for my friend at the workplace.

[Allwood]

Well my friend got no phone call from manager regarding changing jobs in the business, but on the day of the accessory calling to make assessment for minor adjustment my friend was told that she would be moving up to another floor the following week.

 

She advised the manager that access to work person would be calling to the office to access her needs for minor adjustments later that day and also would want to speak to the manager that asked my friend to make arrangement for this to happen and was told she was not in.

Dreadful HR person went to my friend when on her break and said rudely what have you being doing!! She said there is someone on the 5th floor and she been waiting for you and been there ages.

 

Went up to the 5th floor and the person waiting there was not happy after waiting for over an hr. My fiend told her that she did not know what was happening as she was told earlier that day that she would be moving from next week to another floor.

The HR person that got my friend was leaving the room the assessor asked her to stay as the wanted to speak to my friend and as the manager that was asked my friend to arrange this was away not in the office the assessor asked the HR person to stand in. The dreadful HR person said ’no’ I do not want any part of it. The assessor said she needed someone there during the interview and then the HR person I will go and see if I can get someone else to sit with me for this.

The assessor asked my friend what the duties would be on 5th floor, my friend did not know as she only hear about the move about a couple of hrs earlier. The assessor want to see where my friend would be working and the seating there. She was taken there with my friend and the 2 HR persons. The assessor wanted to take a photo of where my friend would be working but the HR person told her that she could not take any photos.

The assessor was confused and said that it was needed to make the assessment. The HR person said I will make a phone call to get someone up here to see you.

A good manager can up to the recues and said of course she could take a photo.

My friend does not know what is happening now as she is suppose to moving to a different floor next week but does not know her duties will be there.....she has not asked for time off unpaid as she is sure this would be refused as it was refused before when it was needed for caring. Other have had this leave without any problems.

[honeybee13]

Hello Allwood. This sounds tough for your friend and I'm sorry. I may be thick, but what are you asking us to help with please?

 

HB

[Allwood]

HB, considering that the government main agenda is getting disabled people into work and this is how they are being treated by employer. which union condons. Now this is not a small employer that cannot accommodate disable people. If a disable person is not able to defend

themselves from victimation and discrimination in the workplace then they will have to leave would they loose benefit becasue of it....

 

Maybe I am wrong and this is not discrimination. Also, HB how can an employee find out what insurer that an employer has to conver disable peoples in their employ:sad: as there has been an awful lot of deductions made from my friends salary.

[honeybee13]

I know, we see it often on the Benefits forum and it's not fair. I'm not sure what to suggest, except have you spoken to the Disability Rights people [i forget the exact name] and the Equality and Human Rights Commission? They might have further advice.

 

HB

[Allwood]

I know, we see it often on the Benefits forum and it's not fair. I'm not sure what to suggest, except have you spoken to the Disability Rights people [i forget the exact name] and the Equality and Human Rights Commission? They might have further advice.

 

HB

 

What is the Equality and Human Rights commission roll regarding employement, I have never head of them before, but that is not surprising..

[honeybee13]

Hi Allwood. I think it was the Equal Opportunies Commission and then after the Human Rights Legislation was brought in, it started dealing with both and changed its name. Before that, I think it dealt with racial and gender discrimination to, which I imagine it still does. I just thought it might cover inequality through being disabled or various other factors. I'll see if I can find a link.

 

HB

[honeybee13]

Here you go, a link to the EHRC homepage with a prominent headline about disabled harassment.

 

I hope it helps you and your friend.

 

HB

[honeybee13]

I'm out of date, the Disability Rights Commission became part of the EHRC a while back. I can't keep up with all the name changes. I hope they will be helpful for you.

 

HB

[Allwood]

Duplication

Edited September 16, 2010 by Allwood