'Period Fairy' supplying painkillers at work

[NorthernFlowerHouse]

Hi all,

Not really an AIBU but I wasn't really sure where to post and I know this is the busiest!

In my work ladies' loo, some period supplies have been left out with a note from 'The Period Fairy' saying to help yourself if needed. I think it's part of a campaign against period poverty which is a great cause and includes boxes of paracetamol.

I'm just a bit concerned whether there might be any legality issues with supplying over the counter painkillers like this- I know that work first aid kits shouldn't contain them in case of allergies but didn't know if this extended to help- yourself supplies.

Does anyone have any ideas?

I just know how kind the lady is who has started this and would hate for her to open herself up to any trouble over a really nice initiative. It's an office environment with no children if that makes a difference. I can't find much online about it and she's off this week.

Thanks!

The problem here isn't that it's paracetamol, or that it's Elf 'n' Safety gone mad.

It's that in today's culture of suing anyone who you think you can possibly blame for your misfortune, if the paracetamol causes a reaction there will always be some people (not all) who will rush to sue the employer on the grounds that the tablets were on company premises so it's all the employer's fault. And the employers don't want to take that risk.

It's not necessarily us who are being wrapped in cotton wool, it's the companies taking a business decision. And while I might not agree I understand their pov.

There is definitely a liability issue if a company, or even just someone at work, gives out painkillers. I know this because my boss who is a long time friend of me and DP came in with an almightly hangover and I offered him paracetamol and ibruprofen which he took. Nothing too unusual in that apart from a lady in HR heard and I was pulled up for it and told not to do it. Apparently the fact that we are friends is irrelevant.

I love the idea and if I worked with women that weren’t over menstruation age I would do it!

Regarding period poverty, I work 21 hours a week at more than minimum wage - a decent wage. I regularly spend more than I earn on the basics - childcare, petrol, food, bills. My periods are erratic and the nearest shop within walking distance that sells them does not sell sanitary items for £1. It would cost me at least £3.50 in petrol to get to somewhere to buy them for £1, and I can just about afford to put petrol in my car to get me to work, DS from nursery and a weekly trip to a supermarket. If I run out accidentally, there are days of the week and weeks of the month where I honestly couldn’t afford them.

Luckily for me, I made the switch from disposable to cloth about a year ago when I had more free income. It costs me nothing as I wash them in a normal wash BUT I couldn’t afford the initial £40 outlay now.

glad I'm not a workplace first aider any more with the atittudes on here.

anyway, it was mostly silly cows who had been splashed by the boiling water tap and didn't have the brains to put their dainty fingers under cold water.

paracetamol is very toxic in overdose and should not be left lying about because PEOPLE ARE STUPID.

The term period is transphobic

how can you take legal action against a fairy though?

I'm a first aider, only a back up though as I'm too squeamish to be a real one. I can't give out painkillers but, if someone asked me as a friend I would let them have something from my drugs drawer, which contains paracetamol, ibuprofen, anadin extra, antihistamines, rennies and Gaviscon and anything else I feel like topping it up with. My boss knows as she has benefitted from the stash!

I’m no longer up to date with the specifics of administering vs assisting with medication and so I’m probably not using the correct terminology here, but essentially there are a legal differences between healthcare professionals administrating medication, unqualified carers assisting with medicines and self administration of OTC remedies.

Non HCPs mustn’t administer medication and so should avoid recommending and proactively handing it over as it might be covered by legislation. This includes medicines in baskets to help yourself to as it could be seen to be promoting it.

First Aiders are not usually qualified Health Professionals so are told not to administer medication.

OTOH if a friend asks you if you have any paracetamol that would be self-administration as it is their choice/risk. The difference is between them asking for a specific oTC remedy and being “told” to take it.

I'd maybe have a designated person you could ask for regarding painkillers- perhaps a discreet way of signing that you've taken two, etc- might be a faff but solves both problems.

I think leaving paracetamol lying around for anyone to pick up is definitely

It's that in today's culture of suing anyone who you think you can possibly blame for your misfortune, if the paracetamol causes a reaction there will always be some people (not all) who will rush to sue the employer on the grounds that the tablets were on company premises so it's all the employer's fault. And the employers don't want to take that risk.

Yes, this. I work in insurance and in reality we would absolutely defend a claim arising in the circumstances the Op describes. In this particular scenario I'd be very surprised if a judge found negligence on the part of the employer but it's not impossible that it could happen.

Bear in mind too that the cost of defending a claim can be very high. Solicitors and barristers have to be paid either way! Even if successful, more often than not there's no point seeking costs against the unsuccessful plaintiff as they're unlikely to have the £££.

Is this some randomer from your office pretending to be the fairy? And leaving paracetamol etc in the loos

Or is it an actual company?

The term period is transphobic

do tell what's acceptable? Because they've been periods for the 27 years I've been getting them without any problems...

Do these people not have work to do?

Sadly risk assessments work on the lowest level of stupid.

Eg what would happen if I left two boxes of 16 paracetamol in the toilets for women on their periods.

Least risky: woman takes 2 paracetamol at midday and another 2 four hours later as the first lot have worn off.

Most risky: woman takes entire contents of boxes as she's having a bad day and wants to end it.

Realistically 32 tablets might not kill her on the spot. But it would cause liver damage, especially if not treated promptly.

So woman has time off sick, sick monitoring levels are triggered/breached and dismissal occurs because of sick record. Woman notes that she wouldn't have taken the tablets if they hadn't been available so claims unfair dismissal as the tablets were provided at work.

Who is responsible?

Woman who took tablets (obviously).
Woman who supplied large quantity of tablets.
Employer, for not removing them when they became aware of their availability (assuming shared facilities so management/supervisors know they are there).
Employee for not reporting a significant amount of medication left freely available.

I know it sounds ridiculous, but as I said, RA always have to work to the lowest level of stupidity because someone really is that daft.

We all chuckle at the 'May contain nuts' labelling on the packs of nuts. But we have those labels because there is at least 1 person who will say 'but there was no warning'.

Transphobic? What?

Threads like this make me so sad. The word has gone bat shit crazy.

This.

The real world risk here is very low. It would have to a) result in an adult harming themselves with a common medication b) for them to think the business might be liable for that c) then decide to actually sue and d) for the court to rule that this business liable. A -C are hugely hugely unlikely even if D might happen.

A-C might be unlikely but they are a possibility.

Sadly it is always the actions of a few who ruin it for the majority.

do tell what's acceptable? Because they've been periods for the 27 years I've been getting them without any problems...

But transwomen don’t get periods so discussion of periods upsets them as it does not recognise that they don’t get periods so it causes ‘literal violence’ towards transwomen. As does discussion of infertility, FGM, contraception, abortion.

The term period is transphobic

It a biological fact. How on earth is it transphobic!

I suppose poverty is all relative but people in the west talking about suffering from period poverty when they run cars, smoke, have mobile phones, sky tv, etc etc probably aren't as poverty stricken as they think they are.

Threads like this make me so sad. The word has gone bat shit crazy.

Yep, nobody is forcing people to take medication and they can read a packet.

We are not supposed to help other colleagues out with painkillers such as paracetamol. The first aides said we could hadn't them out but presumably everyone in the office has a reasonable intelligence and would only need a painkiller if they needed it. The way forward, it was suggested wa to say " I can't hand you one, but see what's in my drawer, handbag, whatever'
Thankfully my colleague was a lot more understanding when I had toothache and was in so much pain a few weeks ago and handed two over with a glass of water.

As someone who's usually stuck being a workplace first aider due to being an ex nurse, but it's been a few years...

Afaik it's not advised. Not only due to allergies but because paracetamol is hugely problematic as a popular method of suicide - that's why there's restrictions on who can sell them and how many per customer.

I would NEVER have done this. Asking for trouble.

Grobags

A - you can develop allergy to something you've invested a million times before with no issues - has happened to me with several meds in recent years.

B - paracetamol is contraindicated with certain conditions. People don't always pay attention when being told

C - paracetamol od either accidental or intentional is horrific. It is not a quick death but long and painful yet people still do it. Depression and other mental illnesses are not logical - there's a lot of sense in the phrase "while the balance of their mind was disturbed" people in distress don't act sensibly always.

D - there could also be problems with if there's ANY children could access at op's work (eg staff offspring, work experience), or indeed other vulnerable folk who might not know not to take easily available medication.

"I assume they pay their staff a decent wage/salary." HA! Aye right! Yea there's no issues with working people using food banks or in fuel poverty either eh?! 🙄

It SHOULDN'T be necessary as employers SHOULD age paying a living wage and the govt SHOULDN'T be leaving new employees with no money coming for the first month of employment at the very least! Meanwhile in the real world, there ARE women and girls left seriously stuck in dealing with a monthly occurrence who shouldn't be.

You and pigsDOfly would do well to read the NUMEROUS posts on threads discussing period poverty and indeed poverty in general, food bank use and the utter farce that is UC! There are women, families going without essential food and shelter let alone period products, there are on the streets homeless people working full time in well known chains! And it's not a few it's been established its well into 1000's of people probably more.

At point A that should say ingested