...to consider giving up my job?

[FretYeNotAllIsShiny]

I work in retail, I'm a checkout person on a bank of tills - in a tine on the counter, not individual tills, think Primark style (though it's not Primark), so it's standing only. Earlier this year I started with backache and sore hips. It got so bad that I had several months off for it. My back had stiffened to such a degree that I couldn't walk properly. Or stand for any length of time.

Eventually I had some physio, she told me it was obviously easing and to go back to work. She suggested I ask my boss for breaks and to have a different job within the store. I went back and my boss agreed to let me have 15 mins during my 6 hour shift. I told him I needed to not be on the till for the entire shift.

Several months later and my hips and back are painful again. The breaks were allowed but by the time I was getting them, I'd be over four/ five hours into the shift and they didn't help. Or there would not be enough people instore and I would be unable to go. So they fell by the wayside. I'm still constantly on the till. By the time I'd been at work two hours today, I was in pain from my hips to ankles.

I can't cut my hours down further without having to sign on. I can't keep having time off, it's not fair to anyone and I don't get paid sick. I'm only contracted to 4 hours, maybe I could go down to that, sign on and look for an easier job? But I don't know if I'd be allowed without sanctions. To make matters worse, I'm a single parent. I've told them I'm not going in to tomorrow, but beyond that, I don't know what to do.

That sounds grim. Are you, the physio, the doctor sure it's all the standing and not something else? If it's the job, clearly you'll have to change, though my view is that one should never quit a job till one has the next one lined up...
A lot of jobs are just too physically hard IMHO for anyone over the age of 25.

You need to get a lot firmer about your breaks! Are they a legal entitlement or GP advice? Either way you need to take them. If it causes chaos at the tills that is because of bad management, not your problem to fix. How long have you worked there?

If you work six hours you should get a 15 min break legally, Would sitting down on the till help?

Just over two years. We do 6 hour shifts so we're not legally entitled to a break, but saying that, if you can get away on the dot you've done 6 hours. Sundays especially are dodgy, I've never gotten away on time on Sunday. Sometimes it's impossible to get a break, if there's only two of us in the store, I can't really leave the other one. We are chronically understaffed some days. We were a new store when we opened, and I think they over-estimated space vs profits. I don't think it helps that everyone else there is twenty-something, I'm in my early 40s.

I'm pretty sure it's the job combined with dodgy hips. I can raise my right knee far higher than my left, my left leg/hip is weaker. There's a lot of bending; to grab items, to put notes in the cash box (knee height), to get carrier bags (under the till).

No, I don't think you are unreasonable.

I once slipped a disc and it was so very painful, I had a sitting down based job and it was so tiring. It hurt my back to sit down for long periods and there was only so much moving around I could do without impacting on my work.

Have you any transferable skills?

You're well within your rights to ask for a tall chair at the till if you need one. Ask HR for a workstation assessment. Though in the long term a chair will cause more back problems. Did the physio give you exercises to continue with?

If your doctor signed you off sick, would you be able to claim anything then (benefits I mean, not employer sick pay)? I'm guessing not, but it might be worth checking. Otherwise, could you look for temp work to tide you over through Christmas? There are lots more jobs advertised in January so you might have more luck longer-term job hunting then.

A perching stool at the till (so you can choose to sit or stand) is a reasonable adjustment in your situation.

The only thing that's odd is the fact that the standing hurts - as a long time back pain the thing that got me was heavy lifting and odd movements .

Please go back to physio

Also

Have you tired evercise ?
Have you trIed tens machine ?
When I say exercise it's the ones the physio give you twice a day

In many ways standing can be Ok if you manange the posture
Persist and good Luck

There's no room for a chair, and with the placement of the cash box, bag, shelves behind, the baskets we collect etc, it would be impractical and probably unsafe.

I couldn't claim anything beyond HB and Council tax reduction last time. I didn't qualify for SSP, and was turned down for ESA. I was living off my ctc and cb.

Physio gave me exercises to loosen my back muscles, but by the time I saw her, I'd been off months and it was already easing. I was having a bit of a mental health paddy with myself at the time and felt I wasn't being listened to. I saw two physios, the first said I was hypermobile and it was a hip problem, the second said I wasn't and I was just stiff. The GP has agreed to send me for a hip xray if nothing is found on a pelvic ultrasound (for something else). I get the feeling they see my weight and just think I'm lazy, but before this, I'd walk to work and back and could easily yomp ten miles at the weekend. Now a fifteen minute walk leaves me stiff.

I can't really leave the other one. We are chronically understaffed some days.

Again, this isn't your problem to fix and you can leave the other person. Tell me, when your back goes and you are made permanently unemployable will your colleagues and employers pay for your living costs? Or will they just have someone from another store cover your Absence until they can hire someone new? I'm assuming you are on minimum wage. Is that £7.20 an hour worth more than your back? Worth more than the rest of your life in agony? If management have left the shop understaffed then they are risking yours and your colleagues' health and safety and they have caused the chaos when you take your break. Not you. Take your break. It's 15 fucking minutes.

I do sympathize op - but the general advice for back pain is exercise , stretch , and keep moving

I think you need to keep at them and further investigate as it's doesn't sound like the usual general back pain to be honest .

I was also advised to lose weight ! She said it so tactfully I thought 'fair enough ' but regardless do the stretches and exercises and try and a tens machine and 100% get an X-ray - you need to get this fixed regardless

How are stress levels ?

I don't think it's normal back pain, when I was seeing the GP when it all started, it had got so bad that everything hurt and I'm not surprised they just put it down to normal lower back stuff. This time, I've noticed the hip pain came first, and where in the hip. It's not just pain either, I've got pins and needles in both legs at the moment.

I'm on anti-anxiety meds, have been since before I started the job. Wouldn't even be working without them. Usually they work well, but sometimes it does all get on top of me. There's quite a lot of stress in my life anyway, and keeping on top of exercise/diet is a really big challenge. But that's a whole 'nother thread in itself.

6 hours seems a long time without a break, is this the norm?

Have you had an x Ray?
Been referred to MUSKAT?
Have you mentioned the pins and needles to anyone? Have any numbness?

A lot of jobs are just too physically hard IMHO for anyone over the age of 25

I am sorry, but what are you on about?

Woodhill - it is at our place, and it's legal. I looked it up.

Wolfie, not yet, I'm hoping the GP is going to refer me. What's MUSKAT? I told the docs last time about the pins and needles, they said it's caused by the muscles compressing the nerves.

You need to strengthen your muscles, particularly if you are hypermobile. I have hypermobility syndrome and struggle with standing for long periods, sitting for long periods and walking. I dropped my working hours to 12 a week and eventually left "normal" employment. I am self employed now. Pilates has been a saving grace for me and has made a big difference but I still struggle with staying in the same position for too long. Your back hurts because your muscles relax and you slump. It's a natural human reaction in order to preserve energy.
Look into the hypermobility. If diagnosed, this is a permanent disability that needs managing, by you, by health professionals and by your employer.

I have lots of hip and back pain after having kids (spd in pregnancy). Hospital runs free set of pilates class with a physio, i was skeptical but Omg the difference. I now do a class once a wk and pain is very managable. Sketches trainers make a huge difference too.

I would persue the idea of a perch stool. Even if your on the end and blocking things

II get similar problems if I stand a long time. In my case I do have hypermobility which doesn't help. Sounds daft but what shoes do you wear? If they don't support you properly, if they force your knees forward for example, can cause problems.

Sorry this is of no practical help to you, but I can't believe that legally you are only entitled to a 15m break in 6 hours of work. That's awful.

MipMipMip - At work I wear work shoes with steel toes, I bought them precisely because cheaper ones were wearing too fast and I wanted more support. For the last eight or nine months, my home wear has either been sandals - comfy-fit ones with proper straps, or at home, barefoot. I don't wear heels, haven't for years.

Sterling, if you work over 6 hours, you;re allowed 20m. Allegedly we work bang on 6, so get nothing. That's pretty much the entire wording on the .gov website.

I am checkout supervisor and it's standing only at our tills also ( as you say, not much room and cash drawer pinging out makes stools more of s hindrance) but we have special mats to stand in that are supposed to help prevent joint pain etc

*stand on

Yanbu to give up your job . But if you have experience in retail why not try for a till job where you do sit down ?