I have a nut allergy and colleague eating nuts in office.

[Yewdontknowme]

I’ve been working with this company since June. It’s with a small company with two open plan rooms in the same building. There is no HR department just the owners and the general manager and supervisors. One room is nut free as myself and an intern are severely allergic, the other room is ok for nuts. We never have to go into the other office. We are allocated space based on what we do within the company and wfh isn’t an option. For the past few months everything has been great.

A supervisor has returned to our office this past fortnight after maternity leave. It seems she is really popular among the other women in the office. She has ignored all the signs and warnings and has been eating nuts at her workstation, which is making me wheeze and my throat and mouth are itching until I get away home. I’m working dosed up on piriton and with fingers crossed I don’t need to use my epipen.

Our manager is a bit of a coward so has been trying to deal with this woman calmly including offering her a space in the other room but she’s refusing to swap rooms as she wants to be with her friends and likes the bigger workspace she has. She is claiming it’s discriminating against her as a returning mother and a vegetarian and so she will continue to eat what she wants, as in her words “they’re not eating the nuts themselves so they’ll be ok”. For what it’s worth I too am a vegetarian. She also told us to get epipens. Myself and the intern can’t go into the other room as the work in there is totally different to what we do. We need the facilities in this space. Our manager has told us we need to sort it out among ourselves.

I appreciate this is a management problem but what am I supposed to do in the meantime? I’m still on probation and this woman is a long standing staff member. It took me a long time to find this job after redundancy in lockdown and I’m terrified I’ll be laid off after my probationary period runs out because of the drama this causes. I can start looking for another job but I fear it will take me over a year again.

AIBU to expect the manager to deal with this woman instead of having to sort out a ‘compromise’ myself?

If your manager is refusing to deal with this, then just report it to the health and safety executive anonymously. They will then contact the business for more information. It’s unacceptable behaviour on behalf of colleague and manager should intervene.

Definitely ring ACAS to find out the employers legal obligations, and then print out everything that you have, and give it to management.

If they can't deal with the situation then they shouldn't be a manager.

The employee eating nuts is bullying you and your colleague and putting your lives in danger. The manager needs to tell them to stop and follow correct disciplinary procedures if they don't stop.

She doesn't need to eat nuts at work, she could eat them at home.

Sorry not read the full thread, some good suggestions on how to take it forward at work, but I would also make sure to keep a diary (and written evidence : emails on your personal email) of when you've made your company/ manager aware of this and follow ups. Just in case they get rid of you, you could claim constructive dismissal and need evidence.

Ask your GP for written confirmation of the severity of your allergy (even if you have to pay for a letter, shouldn’t cost more than £20) and pass this to your manager.

Whilst this request with the GP is in progress call the ACAS helpline:
tel:+44-300-123-1100

I am wondering how the OP manages on public transport and in shops or other enclosed public spaces.

She carries an epipen and I expect as long as she's still on her feet she can walk out if she needs to.

Screwed if a Londoner and / or reliant on public transport.

I sat next to someone on the tube last week, and they were munching on delicious smelling bag of honey roast cashews

must be tricky to go on holiday unless always self catering; restaurants, pubs, cafes (coffee and walnut cake? 😬) must all be out of the question. Concerts? The cinema?

https://www.hrmagazine.co.uk/content/features/handling-severe-allergies-in-the-workplace/

As long as she sees them, but what happens if gets on tube or train and someone is munching on nuts in same carriage but not seen by her? Or the cinema?

costa, pret, Nero etc - all have cakes containing nuts. As do all cafes serving cakes in my locality.

What did she say to you when YOU explained the situation to her and respectfully asked her to avoid nuts? Or did you just go running to your manager 😣

BA won’t serve peanuts and asks passengers not to bring peanuts on board BUT ONLY peanuts. ALL other nuts are allowed You can take solid foods like sandwiches, biscuits, fruit, nuts, etc. on board but the same restrictions for liquids apply to liquid foods, e.g. drinks, soups, sauces, jam or jelly

Anonymously post a glitter bomb to her with a note saying “ditch the nuts you prick”….. either that or you could just ask her to stop eating them.

That is because peanuts are not nuts, they are legumes.

yup and if it is an airborne allergy, being in the same carriage or on the same bus might be enough.

Which makes no sense as tree nuts, dairy , seeds are just as dangerous. Research on reachtions on planes show there has never been a serious reaction.
The only person i know who has had anaphylaxis on a plane was from a cheese sandwich. He is anaphylactic to penicillin and they think there may have been mould on the cheese!

Frankly, your situation scares me.

@HappiDaze gave you some great advice to take to your company, on page 1 of your thread.

A close friend of mine at Uni died from her nut allergy, which made me much more aware of allergies and their seriousness- I wasn't there when it happened (contaminated food in a cafe), but am still affected by her death.

The fact you are getting symptoms at work, shows you're being affected. As your manager is useless, I think you need a chat with the owners.

The fact you have a diagnosed allergy means your work have a responsibility to keep you safe. They also need to know that every exposure puts you at risk of worsening reactions and making it less likely that your medication and epipens will work.

Please, please fight this. I know you're scared of losing your job, but your life is worth more - and I'm not exaggerating, it literally might come to that.

I work in a school. AFAIK, no staff have a nut allergy. However, we know some children do, so no nuts are permitted on the premises (including the staffroom). I love nuts, but would not dream of eating them at work - I won't even eat them for breakfast if it's a workday. How your idiot colleague (and the 'manager') can live with herself I don't know.

YANBU

I love nuts

I work in a school.

The whole school is nut free. I am not allowed to bring nuts onto the site and nor is anyone else.

Wanting to eat them does not mean I can risk killing someone. There are plenty of other nut free foods, and I can eat nuts at home...

there was a teenager a couple of years ago who died of anaphylaxis on a plane but it was from eating a roll she had bought herself in Pret before boarding.

This is why professionals and allergy advocates such are Anaphylaxis Campaign or Allergy UK are very doubtful about airborne allergies and dont advocate nut bans. In fact in Canada research showed schools that had nut bans had more incidents of hospitalisation of their students than schools that had no nutbans

To make things simple: this is bullying. Do whatever you have to do to protect yourself.

Is your allergy classed as a disability? If so your employer is required to make reasonable adjustments to allow you to work. They seem to have done this initially but then this woman’s come back and is putting your health at risk. The obvious reasonable thing for your employer to do is to move her away from you. The fact that she doesn’t want to is irrelevant. Your employer should instruct her to move to another workspace that they have created for her and if she refuses instigate disciplinary action against her

Stupid cow, there is no need to eat nuts at work. I'd have given her the dressing down of her life the first time she did it, and wouldn't be mimsying about with Piriton and putting up with it.

That was poor labelling which is why they bought in Natasha's law . It was sesame seed which is what my ds is allergic to. it wasnt because she was in the same room as someone eating seeds, it was because she unknowingly consumed sesame seeds which werent labeled on the packaging.

Nut allergy can kill. Request sort it. I bake cakes for our office, but check allergies and never nuts in case someone with allergies comes in. Had the same with my old team. I have severe allergy to horses. Old team used to muck out and come into work without changing. I had to stand ground including sitting next to main offenders, making sure I kept up sneezing eyes running and wheezing. I was clear would bring grievance it stopped.

Gosh too many things to respond to so will do the ones that stood out.

I’m not a troll, I’m a regular poster and MN can verify that if necessary. I didn’t want this post connected to other more personal posts.

I wasn’t always so allergic to nuts. I used to love nuts as a child despite being told I was allergic, so when I ate them nothing happened. Not long after I had my first child my allergy got worse and within a few years I needed an epipen. I also have an anaphylactic response to kiwis, bananas avacados and some beans, thankfully I’m ok as long as I don’t personally consume those but with nuts it seems worse.

Yes dining out and holidays can be a nightmare and require careful planning and learning relevant words. I don’t get away often so not as problematic as it may appear.

I can’t say I’ve ever been to a concert where nuts or any food was consumed in an enclosed environment. There’s less of a problem at open air events. I don’t go to the cinema as I don’t like communal film viewings. I dont use public transport either due to an unrelated disability.

Yes I alerted my employers at interview hence the allocation of a nut free room. I’ve found being upfront at the start is most helpful.

It’s only become serious issue in the past 12 years and when I’ve worked previously it’s never been a problem with anyone. This woman’s reaction was a complete surprise to me.

I’ve no idea if it’s an airborne or extreme contact allergy (door handles / machinery I work with) all I know is I only started to react when she returned and was eating nuts in the room.

I posted at silly o’clock because it’s been playing on my mind and I couldn’t sleep for worrying.

i can’t remember the rest of the questions, sorry.