Discrimination against working people?

[Ceci03]

AIBU to think this is discrimination? Have just signed up with a dentist and was lucky to get accepted as an NHS patient. But the receptionist said evening, early morning, and Saturday appointments are only for private patients. Seems unfair. I work in a place where I have to take annual leave for dentist and doctor appointments. Seems unfair but AIBU. Seeing as fulltime workers pay tax which goes to fund the nhs right?

You lived abroad for 40 years so you’re not a long suffering tax payer then( well, at least not here)?

I think if you don't want a contract with those terms you don't accept it.

Is it that difficult to comprehend that a lot of people don't have a choice? Many people have to take these types of contract.

If you have 20 years of service there'd be a bit of give and take from the company and if you're not willing to ask for it you won't be offered it.

Of course I have asked. My union has asked.

You're basing your stability on being there 20 years which is fine and I completely accept but they could still make you redundant tomorrow.

Yes they could, but I'd be entitled to redundancy pay, plus they would have to have good reason to do so.

I understand what you're saying in terms of starting a new job where you don't have any real rights in those first two years but I don't think you can blame anyone else if you're not willing to change or ask for anything different.

I have asked, they said no. They stick to what they are obliged to do by law and no you really don't get it if you think that everyone can just choose to leave their job, particularly if you have a disability.

Dependant on your disability you may well be entitled to time off for appointments and they may be discriminating against you if they don't allow it. Have you looked into that?

Yes, I've looked into it. I've sought advice from my union, from ACAS and from a disability charity - it's a myth that employers have to give you paid time off. They don't. They have to allow you time for medical appointments which can be unpaid, holiday.ir you can make the time back, which isn't possible if you work 5 days a week and need a day off for an appointment.

I get that you don't understand this because you are lucky enough to not be in this position but try to understand that there are plenty of people experiencing this everyday.

I'm sorry that you have a shitty employer then @Hearhoovesthinkzebras.

I have never experienced this (in any of my 5 different places of employment) and don't know anybody who has (including my sister with MS so regular hospital visits) so you must have got really unlucky.

Obviously for you it's very different given your disability - that's not the same as having to take a morning off for a dentist appointment and you're right, there should be a lot more in place for people in your position. OPs situation is very different to yours which is why I got defensive initially.

I hope things change soon so that you can actually be allowed to enjoy your annual leave rather than have to use it for your hospital visits.

My dentist has a car park only for Private patients and a completely different waiting room.

Why don’t people do the most basic fact checking before they post inflammatory shit like this? It was the labour government in 2006 who made the changes that took most of the dentists out of the NHS.

Because that doesn't fit into the "Tories are evil" narrative which people believe because they've seen someone say it on Twitter.

And wait for it, some tosser will come along and say that Blair wasn't Labour and was in fact a closet Tory, so they'll still be deluded enough to blame the Tories for everything.

I have never experienced this (in any of my 5 different places of employment) and don't know anybody who has (including my sister with MS so regular hospital visits) so you must have got really unlucky.

Then you are very fortunate. I think most people employed in NMW jobs are in the same position as me. I'm not unique by any means given the size of my employer.

@Hearhoovesthinkzebras you being unlucky doesn't automatically make someone else fortunate, and vice versa.

You're in a different position to the majority of employees due to your disability. That's why the policy is the way it is. A lot of people, particularly is NMW jobs, will take the mick and say they have appointments when they don't or take longer than necessary to attend such appointments.

I've acknowledged your situation is different but you're still trying to insinuate anyone with a better/more flexible employer than you is privileged which just isn't the case.

If you're working in a NMW I can almost guarantee you don't have to put up with the majority of the shit I have to put up with. That doesn't make you privileged. It makes us different. Swings and roundabouts.

You're in a different position to the majority of employees due to your disability. That's why the policy is the way it is. A lot of people, particularly is NMW jobs, will take the mick and say they have appointments when they don't or take longer than necessary to attend such appointments.

Easily solved by asking for an appointment letter isn't it, which I have to provide in order to guarantee my time off.

I'm not unique in my experience. Most of the people I work with are in a similar boat. How can you book a drs or dentist appointment if you don't know until 24hours beforehand if you'll be required to work?

Do you want some vinegar for that chip?Take it up with your employer not the dentist. Laughable that you suggest dentists needs to reconsider their working hours- you might want to reconsider yours!
If the dentist were to stop offering these extra hours then all the 'rich people' would be coming in the day and you wouldn't be able to get an appointment. Seriously, consider yourself lucky to have an NHS dentist to begin with.

I've acknowledged your situation is different but you're still trying to insinuate anyone with a better/more flexible employer than you is privileged which just isn't the case.

If you're working in a NMW I can almost guarantee you don't have to put up with the majority of the shit I have to put up with. That doesn't make you privileged. It makes us different. Swings and roundabouts.

But according to you that's your choice to put up with it. Apparently you can just choose to leave your job, no?

@Hearhoovesthinkzebras yeah I agree - it is easily solved. I agree that there should be allowances. But the letter wouldn't solve the 24 hour issue - if you have a doctors appointment you won't get a letter, unless it's routine.

My workplace will ask for letters from people who regularly take time off for appointments. Some managers are hotter on it than others.

Many Doctors surgeries book on the day appointments so that's not so bad.
Dentists are tougher, especially if the hours you work are very varied. Presumably you're not a 9-5 operation.

Yeah of course I could leave my job but the pros outweigh the cons - in the same way that you'd rather have job security than flexibility.

As I said, it makes us different. It doesn't necessarily make either of us more privileged .

Yeah of course I could leave my job but the pros outweigh the cons - in the same way that you'd rather have job security than flexibility.

I'm not prioritising security over flexibility. I'm prioritising paying my bills, affording a roof over my head over not having a job. Why is that so hard for you to understand? Do you not get that people in this country are trapped in jobs because the alternative is to become homeless? Honestly, you are either being goady if you have zero ability to accept that a lot of people don't have your life.

@Hearhoovesthinkzebras financial security is security.
Knowing you can pay your bills = financial security. How is that goady?

Nothing is free! No, not even NHS is free. We are all paying for it from our taxes.

I have paid from my own pocket to go to the dentist because on NHS the materials are cheaper. So, for my own health I chose to make a financial effort.
And because I am paying without putting any more pressure on the NHS I think that it's only fair to see my doctor in the evening without having to also take a day off from work.

I really wonder why there are so many people that don't understand that everything comes with a cost.

Moreover, it constantly shocks me to see how NHS is being taking for granted.
There are EU coutries where you don't get free health service - wooaaa, shock and horror maybe, but you actually have to WORK and to pay taxes to get acceess to a GP, hospital etc.
Some of you might be in shock to hear that a hospital will send you an invoice if you didn't pay your taxes and you end up in hospital.
Free dentist and this level of entitlement?! Hahahaha :)))

I think some people are really living in a bubble that will pretty soon burst.

Honestly, find another dentist

They’re lucky to have you, not the other way round.

How is that goady?

Your continuous "find another job. You're making the choice to stay. If you don't ask your employer don't complain. You value job security over flexibility".

You're not getting that many people are working for not great employers because the government have allowed workers rights to be eroded and that many people don't have the resources to just chuck a job in in the hope that a)they'll get another and b)that they can get a flexible one.

You say you have just come back to Britain after 40 years abroad. What was stopping you having your extensive dentistry before you came back here? So you were not living here but now you think nhs dentists should work around your schedule. You should also check with HR in your workplace because most companies will give you time off for appointments as long as you take proof with you. Your brother as may be trying to pull the wool over your eyes

Surely the OP started this thread for a laugh?

Are you actually being serious?

I think you’re taking out your frustration at the wrong thing. Basically most people want the first or last appointments for dentists. My practice is solely private and I can rarely get the best times because everyone wants them. You just have to be super organised. I’m on mat leave but the chances are I’ll need to take annual leave when I go back to work as getting an appointment is hard in itself.

A lot of people, particularly is NMW jobs, will take the mick and say they have appointments when they don't or take longer than necessary to attend such appointments

If you're working in a NMW I can almost guarantee you don't have to put up with the majority of the shit I have to put up with

What a load of crap. NMW workers are not skivers or having a cushy time.

Are the people posting this classist shit going to quit their jobs and get a NMW one instead as these jobs are so fab.

@HeIenaDove no I'm not going to quit my job for a NMW one and if you're going to quote me actually read what I've said all the way through

There are EU coutries where you don't get free health service - wooaaa, shock and horror maybe, but you actually have to WORK and to pay taxes to get acceess to a GP, hospital etc

As far as I am aware, that's the same with the NHS, funded from taxes.