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.