I've been disciplined for leaving work with an injury!?

[trackerbars]

I'm fuming.

I don't know if I'm in the wrong though...

I work in a warehouse for canned soup and only went and dropped a packed box on my toe. I literally couldn't keep tears in and I'm not one to cry. I spoke to my manager who wanted to see it (fair enough) and I hadn't even looked at it at this point. It didn't look too bad. He said to take a break so I went on my break.

I put some ice on it and it started to swell, there was a bizarre lump on it and I couldn't wiggle it.

He said it's fine and just bruised and apparently had "seen enough in his time to know" and that even if it is broken, I can still work but he'll put me on a part where I get to just stand there. I did it for 30 mins and it wasn't helping, I could bare weight with a shoe on as it hurt and I said I'm going to have to go and put it up.

He said if it's broken you'll get away with walking out in a huffy voice

I was so sure it was I wasn't even worried about what might happen.

I got it looked at and it wasn't! They even said when I went in "should we even bother with an x ray" because they were so sure and after joked about what my bones must be made out off. I was happy but slightly worried about my manager.

I returned to work after a week (I had a doctors note) and I had a warning (official) for leaving work unauthorised?

What. The. Actual. Fuck.

I hate my job so much. This is literally the only job I got after about 100 interviews

Sorry for all the twatish replies you've gotten. I don't think if my toe was swelling and I was in agony I would have stuck around to fill out some paper work for permission to go get it checked-out.
This type of behaviour is exactly why employers like yours are able to get away treating their staff like shit. I hope you feel better and get around to fighting this.

who is the first aider.Did they examine or treat you?

Steel toed boots are not as expensive as you might think. We had trouble on holiday because DS1's boots kept setting off alarms. He doesn't need steel toe caps, but they were the cheapest boots available!

Amazon, by the way

Bloody hell, there’s some strong reactions here. I injured my toe once by stubbing it on a coffee table and broke my small toe. I was off work for 5 weeks. I couldn’t put my shoe on-as it was winter sandals weren’t appropriate weather wise and wouldn’t have protected the injury anyway. I’m a mental health nurse and was working on an acute secure unit. I couldn’t restrain people if I couldn’t put my bloody shoe on! In the same way someone in a factory (so manual work) cannot do their job if they can’t put their shoes on or weight bear.

I’ve also taken 2 weeks off when I sprained an ankle- I sprained it,was recovering then sprained it again. I couldn’t stand or weight bear and at the time was recovering from surgery to my knee, but could have worked if I didn’t then injure my ankle twice.

Btw I was desperate to go to work, especially with the ankle injury but I couldn’t even walk to the station let alone get to work and do a full day

After you'd been to the doctors and been signed off for a week, what did the company say when you phoned up to tell them you wouldn't be in?

It’s like Monty Python in here sometimes. “I went down t’pit with 2 broken legs and a severed arm and did a full days work!”

OP if you have a doctor’s note covering you for your injury and recovery, they have zero right to discipline you. Speak to HR, a union or CAB.

This kind of bullying bad treatment has become pervasive amongst low paid insecure work, preying on the fact that people are desperate for that work.

Exactly this. Unfortunately that is OP's reality. A lot of people coming on posting about OP's legal rights, and that's correct, but I would expect that if she stands up for those rights she can kiss any job security and promotion prospects goodbye, the employer will find a way to get rid of what they regard as a troublemaker.

Badum - they've got zero right to discipline the problem with the injury itself with a valid doctors note.
They have every right to discipline if the op just took a week off and turned up a week later without telling them.
Op hasn't clarified whether she informed them or just didn't turn up.