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?

So why do schools ban nut products if one child has an allergy? If it’s all bunkum?
Yes,, they are going against advice from Anaphylaxis UK etc who do not believe nut bans are necessary or effective

from Anaphylaxis UK

We don't typically recommend complete nut bans because they are very difficult to enforce and can lead to a false sense of security. Children can be allergic to other common food allergens, for example milk and egg, and it would be impossible to ban them all

People die from accidental ingestion not from being in the same room as nuts,seeds, milk etc
It is bad labeling or not checking labels because they have had it before but there has been a change in the recipe etc that are the problem.

The problem is that too many people think peanuts are more dangerous than other allergies because of threads like this which is full of misinformation about allergies.

Try quoting the post you are replying to, as otherwise no one knows to whom your comments are addressed. So no one here - apart from the completely batshit posters who advocate faking a seizure to get the point across - is advocating calling an ambulance if unnecessary. But from my own experience, I worked with a colleague who had a very severe allergy that sometimes went from the the first signs to a choking response in a very short space of time. Would you advocate waiting until someone’s reaction is life threatening before calling for help, because that ‘s how you’re coming across.

Well, I’m currently undergoing desensitisation for an allergy so no, I don’t think nut allergies are worse than milk or egg allergies.

As a nurse with anaphylactic reactions to penicillin (lifelong, after having a dose as a baby but luckily in hospital) and erythromycin (since the age of 30 and it was scary AF), I always double glove when administering those meds and I’m not allowed to administer them as IV meds!

I’m a proud cat mum of 2, one of which I was fine with despite being allergic to cats, and one of which I had a horrific 4 or so weeks with before I settled down, despite taking antihistamines twice a day.

I’m allergic to bananas, kiwi, latex, alcohol rub, and peppermint as well. I also have an auto immune disease, eczema and psoriasis amongst other things.

So no, I don’t think nut allergies are worse than any other allergy, but I don’t think you should put yourself in harms way either!

I wonder if she would be this selfish if one of her kids had a nut allergy.

Your manager needs to grow a pair and tell her move to the other room or leave altogether. It's putting yours and your colleagues lives at risk for something so selfish and completely avoidable.

I would put your concerns in writing to your manager, his manager and advise them that unless you feel safe in the office you will need to escalate this via ACAS.

I worked with a woman like this when I had a colleague with a severe nut allergy. Selfish and entitled.
Can you organise epipen training for all staff? Once she knows she may be personally responsible for administering someone's EpiPen, and had it from the horse's mouth so to speak that a) the effect only lasts 10 min and a further dose then must be administered which you won't have as only one EpiPen has been prescribed and b) the tiniest particle of nut protein in the air or on her hands and transferred to a door handle could cause a reaction it might change her opinion.

This is a matter of serious health and safety and your manager should do a risk assessment showing clearly that there is a risk to you and your colleague from nut eating in the room and what the company are doing to address and control that risk.

I am sure there would a be a template online for this and the HSE can be contacted by individuals for advice if no joy.

A serious nut allergy would be recognised as a disability under the Disability discrimination act. Your employers are are failing in their duties towards you if they fail to make 'reasonable adjustments'. You have done all you can and been more than reasonable. You now need to ask for an 'informal' meeting to discuss the situation (which needs to be documented). If your employers fail to act you then need to ask for a formal meeting (again fully documented). Hopefully this matter can be resolved informally. In terms of resolving the matter it is very easy for managers to address. The fact they won't speaks volumes about the organisation. Basically they are failing in their duty of care towards you and your colleague. Ultimately if they fail to address you will have no option but to leave. However, if you were forced down this road a solicitor would have no problem in putting together a case under the Disability discrimination act. In conclusion my view is from the other person's point of view it has nothing to do with your nut allergy. It is about her positioning and status, on return from leave, as the most popular and powerful member of the team. She is obviously the 'Alpha male' of the group and the rest of you have to fall into line and bow to her superiority, regardless of the cost to your health. Good luck with resolving, the Citizens advice bureau would be a good organization to contact for advice and support.

I’m not a denier, and the article i quoted was produced directly by the NHS which I think you will agree carries just as much weight as a BMJ article. I specifically said that the risk of non ingestive anaphylaxis was extremely low. Whilst it was possible to have mild allergic symptoms from airborne nut particles, the risk of full blown anaphylaxis was vanishingly low. The article you quoted referred to an increase in the number of food induced anaphylaxis cases, which is specifically different to non ingestive anaphylaxis as i mentioned.

Could you and your fellow nut allergy colleague do some sort of presentation on how dangerous a nut allergy is - she may not fully understand it or set up a first aid training including what to do if someone has an anaphylactic shock. Otherwise agree with other posters and think about suing her

This is nothing short of outrageous!

Your employer has a duty to keep you safe and they can't really claim they are doing so wen they have allocated you a nut-free space that they know is not nut free!

They need to send her on an allergy awareness course. She is clearly ignorant of the harm she could be causing. If you are wheezing due to the airborne particles then this could turn nasty very quickly. I agree with a previous poster that calling an ambulance would send a clear message.

I'd also be quoting employment law to your managers as this dumb ass of a woman is seriously compromising the Health & Safety of several members of staff.

Can you join an independent union? Or afford to see a solicitor?

My suggestion is to email the selfish coworker, also cc manager and the owner letting them know that you need a nut free work area as being around nuts affects your health op. If it continues and you need to go to the hospital for a reaction to said allergy you will send the company and said selfish employee the bill for said hospital visits and may move forward with legal action for endangering your health. Unfortunately the threat of legal action is one of the few things that spark fire under somes bottoms.

To a point, yes i would advocate waiting until the reaction is life threatening, because that is exactly what 999 is for, “life threatening emergencies”. No one should be calling for an ambulance at the first signs of an allergic reaction, ie an itchy throat. Yes they should call for an ambulance if the reaction proceeds to anaphylaxis but not because they have an allergic reaction. I was at work once when i had an epileptic seizure and the first aider called an ambulance, when i came round I went bat shit at them for wasting resources, it was not life threatening, they were just protecting their liability and that is wrong

Are you the dickish workmate?? In the same reference if the work colleague can't eat nuts at her desk so someone in the office doesn't need to use medication then big deal, she's not going to die of starvation. She also needs to grow up and stop being an inconsiderate cow. I have both hay fever and allergies and it's not the same. Hay fever can't kill you actual allergy can or it can cause severe medical complications so yes being in the same room is dangerous to her especially constant exposure to it and u washed surfaces

@Adam1630

You should always call 999 if someone is seriously ill or injured, or their life is at risk

not your made up definition of “life threatening emergency”

Life threatening doesn’t mean you are minutes away from death

It means that the situation is such as to present a threat to life

Perhaps you should all read the guidance from Anaphylaxis UK who do I not advocate nut free environments “We don’t typically recommend complete nut bans because they are very difficult to enforce and can lead to a false sense of security. Children can be allergic to other common food allergens, for example milk and egg, and it would be impossible to ban them all. We recommend a whole school allergy awareness approach of all allergens. Settings should carry out an individual risk assessment for any child with an allergy and put appropriate measures in place to reduce the risks as far as possible. Every setting is different, but this may include extra cleaning measures or adjustments of the timings and locations of meals and snacks if necessary.”

the following is the official guidance of when you should call an ambulance, note it does not include the first signs of an allergic reaction

• signs of a heart attack
• chest pain, pressure, heaviness, tightness or squeezing across the chest
• signs of a stroke
• face dropping on one side, cannot hold both arms up, difficulty speaking
• sudden confusion (delirium)
• cannot be sure of own name or age
• suicide attempt
• by taking something or self-harming
• severe difficulty breathing
• not being able to get words out, choking or gasping
• choking
• on liquids or solids right now
• heavy bleeding
• spraying, pouring or enough to make a puddle
• severe injuries
• after a serious accident or assault
• seizure (fit)
• shaking or jerking because of a fit, or unconscious (cannot be woken up)
• sudden, rapid swelling
• of the lips, mouth, throat or tongue

Try reading Anaphylaxis UK guidance. They do not recommend an allergen free environment, nor indeed a nut free environment. So no I’m not the :“Dickish workmate” I’m the person who can see the light of day and recognises the sensible course of action

What bill for hospital visits?

You don't typically get charged in the UK for a ride in the ambulance and in-patient treatment. Hell, I don't even think you get charged for prescriptions fulfilled by a hospital pharmacy.

I agree the OP should enforce their legal rights (equality legislation) but the second you start threatening for make-believe, you lose all credibility. I don't recommend they do that.

@Adam1630

i quoted anaphylaxis website suggestion not to impose a nut free environment many many pages ago

@Adam1630

genuinely curious - what is the motivation for a man to spend so much of his time on a hugely, massively and enormously overwhelmingly… female chat forum? Genuinely interested.

I'm actually going to back you up here.

Most adults with allergies have lived with those allergies all their lives, so they know whether what they are experiencing is likely to be controlled with self-administered medication or if they're on a countdown to needing a doctor.

If an individual seems panicked, calling the ambulance at an early stage makes sense because it might be the first time they've experienced an allergic reaction, they don't know how quickly it might progress and they won't have any medication on them.

If they seem in control of the situation, ask them what they need. It's probably old hat to them.

Just because I'm experiencing an allergic reaction does not mean it's going to turn into anaphylaxis. I know the difference - I can tell if my medication is controlling it, or if I need to be hospitalised and put on an adrenaline drip. It winds me up no end when people try to call me an ambulance when I don't actually need one!

Save the ambulance for when my throat is actually swelling up to the point where an epipen won't counter the reaction and I'm at risk of losing consciousness due to being unable to breathe. Please don't call me an ambulance if my throat is just a bit itchy. That might not even need an epipen.

I can't comment on the severity of the OP's reaction or how they are triggered as I'm not their doctor.

However, even if the OP's systems were "just mild", why should the OP have to put up with them when there's such a glaringly obvious solution? The nut-free office worked for the OP previously, and it doesn't seem unreasonable in their setup to continue those arrangements.

From a practical POV, even if the allergen doesn't kill the OP, if the OP is "just a bit" ill every day, do you not think their productivity is going to suffer? How is it good for the business if the OP is always turning out mildly crappy work?

People do not do their best work when they feel like shit. A healthy workforce is a productive workforce.

It is not a vacuum! They are reasonably saying that the environment in which she works should be safe. It is about creating two separate areas. That's all there is!

The OP is being knowingly wilfully harmed by the knowing acute 'irritant' of nuts being allowed in the office. (Mental health as well as physical health / knowingly inducing unpleasant symptoms!)

ED presentation of full blown anaphylaxis have occurred through non- ingestion.

I have worked in ED / critical care for many years (still do) & teach medical & nursing staff on various topics. This includes anaphylaxis.

https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10888965/amp/Girl-14-nut-allergy-nearly-died-aboard-flight-passenger-ate-peanuts-despite-warning.html

You're still dickish if your need fit nuts is greater than your need to be a decent person. Ffs the op is having to take medication just do the dickish colleague can eat nuts so no I don't agree you're 'seeing the lightning day' as it's not a sensible course if action.
In general I don't think people should eat at their desks at work, it's just gross and stinks up the office.
Also they may not say anything about a nut free/allergen environment but the guidance first say the workplace should make allowances, extra cleaning etc and make sure colleagues are educated and ask them not to expose the person where possible and not eat the allergy food at their desk

It’s all gone a bit strange on this thread. I’m not addressing some of the BS being posted or justifying my allergy to anyone.

There’s nowt weird as mumsnet!

I spoke with the manager first thing this morning and said in no uncertain terms this was their problem to fix. I quoted some of the links (including the anaphylaxis site one) and said I’d call ACAS tomorrow and the directors if something wasn’t done immediately. The intern has apparently had their university contact the manager about it too. I surprised myself at how confident I appeared so thank you to all those who gave me really good helpful advice.

I’m told nut eating woman is being transferred to the other room when she is next in and will have it explained to her that she cannot eat nuts near us or in the same room as us or she will face disciplinary action. This is as good an outcome as I can expect.

I have suspicions she’ll be as difficult as possible about it but one of the people I thought was a close friend of hers said they were pleased she was going. Someone up thread has pointed out she may not be as popular as she appeared and I think you’re right.