in tears re work appraisal tomorrow

[StripeyChina]

I started a new f/t job in Sept.
Prior to that I had been out of the workplace for 15 years., so i'm rusty.
I have physical disabilities which mean standing / sitting for long periods is hard and stairs are a problem. I said all this at interview.
The position is a trainee one in mental health and involves p/t Uni too.

It's been hard. Work insisted on an OccHealth report but have ignored all content (ie i should work on ground floor, my office is upstairs no lift) / work out of various locations etc. Another trainee is partially deaf and they are making no accomodations for her either, so its not just me.
But i had a 3m review before xmas when they said i wasn't fast enough. I pointed out i had no Outlook training and i was in pain in my work area. They said they would organise but later said it was up to me to sort work area under 'access to work'. I asked about a different post (im already qualified for) but they said No. I asked about part time, but they said No. I've not had any extra Outlook training. When I ask questions they roll their eyes. Others on my Uni course are doing a far lower workload yet work say it is to fulfill Uni course requirements.

My next review is tomorrow. I am dreading it.
I am on 6m probation. Unlike the others i am now have to have these meetings every month. It doesnt look good does it? I actually dont even want to go in tomorrow. I will but i am sitting here in tears at the thought. How do i handle it?

Have you contacted Access to Work (you should have done that before you started)? There's lots of training videos for Outlook online, have you looked at them?

I can understand your concerns about the review, but these are things you could (and should) be sorting yourself. Showing initiative will definitely go in your favour.

The job began 7 days after interview. I'd never heard of access to work.
I have contacted them and am waiting to hear back.
What is the point when they are already ignoring the Occ Health report?

Do you have paperwork etc from OH that state their recommendations?

Go through it and write down how each item affects your ability to do the job (and highlight what is their responsibility to sort or assist with)

If their criticism is related to any of your points, you then you have your responses to hand. Ie if they say you take too long getting from your workstation to reception which is downstairs, and that’s affecting other workloads, you (hopefully) wont get upset or flustered but will be able to say ‘well this is why’

Do you have any communication in writing with your line manager about these matters? Make a note or take them with you, so that you can show clearly when you have requested changes or help etc.

If it wasn’t in writing, try to remember the conversations with who and when, and make a list so u can take it in with you.

Make a list of stuff you’ve done yourself to make improvements (like contacting ATW)

What training do you need on outlook? I will say (I don’t want this to sound harsh) I’ve never had any ‘proper’ training on it, it’s just always something I pick up as I go along in the job. I’ll just google ‘how to do X’ if I’m unsure (if you can and are allowed to access external internet)

So I don’t know that they can sort training as such, but have a list of questions ready on what you’re unsure of anyway.

Try to think of real life examples for all of this. It will come across better if you could say eg ‘I couldn’t help colleague because of XYZ’, rather than just ‘I can’t do it’.

They should definitely be working with you to make your job safe and not harming
I'd request a meeting to discuss what changes still need to be done to allow you to work without pain.
As to outlook, had they promised training in it? As far as I knew, that was a teach yourself type thing, at any job I've ever had

Is this a role within the NHS?

boringlyboring
Thank you. This is just the type of advice I need.
Yes, I have the OT report. There are rooms avail downstairs they just won't let me use them. I asked if I could use a corner desk so I could lean my crutches (i need them to stand up and they kept sliding against my mid room desk edge and I was told they were a 'health and safety issue'. I was told no and they have nailed a sort of metal clip to my desk. So I now have to put my crutches on the floor to get my desk drawer open. My the job ad stated 'work from various locations' I said I am not able to do that (rural no public transport, can't drive very far due to disability but can work out of nearest office is that any good? and they said yes fine (I am overqualified for a similar job with transferable skills and the rest of the 20 trainees are straight out of college) but now they have presented me with a standard contract and said sign or we will let you go. I have no written proof of what was said at interview and it is the same person reviewing me who denied it last time, yikes.
It is contracted out by NHS so not directly, sadly.