Mask at work/exemption

[Candleropeheart]

Have been WFH since last march, they started to return us one day a week in June. Ive gone in 4/5 weeks and due to being exempt of the face coverings I wasnt wearing a mask and nothing said to me either.
Until last week when it was almost home time & boss pulled me on it. She did this in front of colleagues too and kept pushing with comments such as id offended someone, others are worried they are more at risk and youve not covered up for the bathroom trips etc.. i said my reasons again and felt very pressured and watched.. but still said no. She got up and and came back 5 or so minutes later with a box full of visors for just me to wear...

I am hurt, and annoyed at this behaviour. Surely she cant behave like this! & surely she can't force me when ive clearly stated why im not wearing one to her.

Ive hearing aids in both ears, nhs ones not private as my earing is too far gone. I used to wear masks at the very start but they get caught around them and ive lost/broken hearing aids before so now ive decided along with my GP that i am exempt. (A broken hearing aid that i cant fix could mean waiting 6 months on a new one! I cant hear without mine at all! & ive two children this was also explained to boss who clearly didnt care..

There are lots of alternatives available to people who wear aids/CI's (masks that tie round the head, ear savers, visors, the neck tubes that pull up etc). It sounds like maybe you just don't want to wear anything?
Your boss didn't handle it well to ask you in front of everyone, no, but them being an ass about it doesn't mean you are able to just decide you're exempt (my understanding is that people who are deaf/hoh are not exempt from mask wearing, but those with them are). If its been pointed out to you that you're making people uncomfortable, and there are multiple viable alternatives available for you, why wouldn't you just wear one for the few times a day you need to?

Of course you should wear the visor. I don’t understand why you wouldn’t. You have a perfectly good reason for not wearing a mask, fair enough, but why are you willing to put everyone else in your workplace at risk just because you don’t want to feel ‘singled out’?
At my workplace, we all wear masks when we move around the building, but one or two people choose to wear a visor instead. It’s no big deal.

Why do you need to wear one anyway? it’s not mandatory anymore.

It doesn't matter what the law says.

Private businesses can continue to enforce masks if they wish. Just as many businesses enforce a dress code.

Depends what part of the UK she's in. Still mandatory here.

OP is perfectly entitled to claim exemption due to her hearing impairment. The number of people telling her to suck it up is indicative of the ongoing discrimination suffered by deaf people. Would you tell someone with an obvious physical disability to suck it up and wear it?

Are people still considering visors a viable alternative? I had read that they aren't worth wearing 🤷🏼‍♀️

@Fullofthejoysofspring

OP is perfectly entitled to claim exemption due to her hearing impairment. The number of people telling her to suck it up is indicative of the ongoing discrimination suffered by deaf people. Would you tell someone with an obvious physical disability to suck it up and wear it?

And visors are awful for deaf people to understand what's being said- 9 times out of 10 there is glare so you can't lip read and if you have any residual hearing the sound is so distorted when it hits the visor it's awful.

Deaf people have been in such a challenging situation during this pandemic and need to mask wear.

Visors are a total waste of time - they are supposed to be for eye protection with a mask.

Just look at someone wearing one with no mask and commonsense shows you they do diddlysquat.

Your boss is being ridiculous. One of the most absurd covid rules is not having to wear a mask sitting down but having to wear one moving around. Like it makes a difference if you are still in the same enclosed space!

If I was in your shoes I would put something in writing to your boss about you being exempt, pointing out masks are no longer legally mandated and how her treatment of you is amounting to disability discrimination. Copy in HR too or a more senior director.

It was certainly wrong for your boss to talk to you about this in front of other colleagues. No one should be forced to disclose private and personal information where there isn't a bona fide need to know.

However I don't think that the risk of the ear loops of an ear-elastic mask damaging a hearing aid is a legitimate reason to not wear a mask. There are plenty of mask options that don't use ear loops at all - e.g. ones that tie up behind your head, or have elastic around the back of the head. Or if you can only access the ear-elastic type there are little straps that you can attach the ear loops to in order to make them attach behind the head instead (nhs staff and other people who have to wear masks all day rather than just for toilet trips use these all the time)

Its important that there should be medical exemptions from mask wearing. There are lots of legitimate reasons why people shouldn't have to wear masks and often those reasons are difficult to explain to strangers without revealing deeply personal and private information. To make things ok for those people it is very important that the exceptions for non-mask-wearing are not over-used by people who really just want to avoid the minor discomfort and inconvenience that 98% of us are just putting up with. You are totally capable of resolving your issues with masks without claiming an exemption, you are just choosing not to.

I've seen many people with hearing aids wearing masks (including my MIL and Aunt)

If you don't want to wear masks, just say so. You don't need an excuse.

Totally yanbu. She should have spoken to you privately not in middle of office!

@Candleropeheart this sounds really daft but you saying visor not very visible....they have a thin plastic protector on that you need to peel off first. Sure you've done that but thought I'd say.

@toomuchfaster

I think people are completely missing the point: masks are no longer legally enforceable. It matters not what anyone else in the office thinks or feels, *@Candleropeheart* doesn't have to wear one for any reason at all now. Tell your boss it's none of her business and she has no right to even discuss this with you. If she continues then approach HR about DDA allowances. And I say this as someone who works in a health care setting where we are supposed to encourage the wearing of masks, but we are not allowed to demand it or a reason for refusal.

Do you honestly think you are the only person on mums net that knows this? For goodness sake, of course people are not missing the point, because that is not the point.

Many workplaces and public places are still requesting that people wear face masks, and most people comply as a courtesy to others. OP is plainly being difficult abs making up excuses, which other posters have pointed out. Then trotting out the being “singled out” complaint, even though she is singling herself out.

I'm being singled out for being the only person to do this

i felt massively singled out.

YANBU to have difficulty wearing a mask, but YABU not to try alternatives.

The visor or shield is fine.

Are you testing every day? Is your office able to accommodate you socially distancing ?

Masks cut the risk of you transmitting the virus. And you could be doing that, especially with 2 children, when they’re back at school.

You’re not being “Singled out” - your manager is trying to find ways to reasonably accommodate your disability (hearing deficit) while trying to keep everyone as safe as possible.

most people comply as a courtesy to others

This.

If there’s one thing we should have learned from this pandemic, it’s that we need to be concerned about the risk WE pose to others.

Your boss should have dealt with it privately.

Did you tell your boss you believed you are exempt, the reasons why and obtain agreement to you working in the office on that basis or just not follow your office guidance?

YABU for not using the alternatives that are available, at work or in public, that do not loop around your ears.

I am exempt and wore a mask even at work for 7 to 8 hours. Yes it was horrendous and plenty of times had to dash outside so I could remove it.
I don't wear them at work now as they aren't mandatory but I would if they made it policy.
They offered you an alternative but you have still decided that's not good enough.
For the sake of toilet visits and leaving the building I think you could do it. My husband wears NHS hearing aids and has never broken them by wearing a mask.

@Fullofthejoysofspring Thank you exactly this!!

Office make their own rules unfortunately.

Clearly deaf people dont matter..i mean its bad enough sitting all day in the office and not being able to partake in the conversations but I went kept my head down and did my work but its only now that ive offended someone else i should 'suck it up' too!! Fu*king hell people are actually unbelievable.

I have been WFH therefore not needed a mask or to invest in one as i can go shopping in fact i have been able to go anywhere for that matter A&E, GP surgery included and have not been made to feel the way She made me feel in that office!

I can do my role completely from home but our director wanted us in one day a week. He spoke once to me and when i said "im sorry X i cant hear you with the mask on..." he just turned on his heel and has ignored me everytime since!!

The point here is we've been told time and time again that visors alone are useless so OP is being made to wear one for the sake of keeping up appearances and not because it actually works.

@ThorIsAGod I don't understand your point. Masks prevent lip reading and also distort speech. For hearing aid users they can also interfere with their aids, causing feedback due to unnatural positioning of ears, hair etc.

[quote Candleropeheart]**@Fullofthejoysofspring* Thank you* exactly this!!

Office make their own rules unfortunately.

Clearly deaf people dont matter..i mean its bad enough sitting all day in the office and not being able to partake in the conversations but I went kept my head down and did my work but its only now that ive offended someone else i should 'suck it up' too!! Fu*king hell people are actually unbelievable.

I have been WFH therefore not needed a mask or to invest in one as i can go shopping in fact i have been able to go anywhere for that matter A&E, GP surgery included and have not been made to feel the way She made me feel in that office!

I can do my role completely from home but our director wanted us in one day a week. He spoke once to me and when i said "im sorry X i cant hear you with the mask on..." he just turned on his heel and has ignored me everytime since!![/quote]
I understand exactly where you're coming from with this. I also wear aids in both ears and I'm sorry but regardless of whether it's an ear loop, a band that goes round my head further up, a visor or a bag over my fucking head, IT INTERFERES WITH MY HEARING. There is a reason why there is an exemption for deaf people and also anyone who is with a deaf person who relies on lip reading.

@Fullofthejoysofspring sorry, yes you are so right I was just saying visors are equally crap but have somehow been hailed as a viable alternative. All the deaf people I know- full range of oral and BSL users don't rate visors as they cause issues too.

Interestingly I have one friend who is very oral and has good use of cochlear implants who likes the paper masks the best as they give her the best sound and the fabric ones are awful but she relies on her implant more than other friends who without lip reading have no chance.

[quote ThorIsAGod]@Fullofthejoysofspring sorry, yes you are so right I was just saying visors are equally crap but have somehow been hailed as a viable alternative. All the deaf people I know- full range of oral and BSL users don't rate visors as they cause issues too.

Interestingly I have one friend who is very oral and has good use of cochlear implants who likes the paper masks the best as they give her the best sound and the fabric ones are awful but she relies on her implant more than other friends who without lip reading have no chance. [/quote]
Thank you - I agree with you! The pandemic has been horrific for hearing impaired people. I personally have worn a mask as much as I could, but it's been so hard trying to do basic things like grocery shopping with no clue as to what people are saying. I don't want to wear one in the office though because I won't stand a hope in hell of being able to use the tiny amount of residual hearing that I've got left.

YABVU op.