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?

Agree with ours to contact ACAS or an employment law specialist but under the health and safety act your employer has a responsibility to ensure the safety of staff at work. They need to sort this not you.

Ensure you keep everything via email from here on out

The fact this woman is popular doesn't matter, she doesn't get to decide how others health are impacted.

I can't get over the selfishness. I'm sure she wouldn't be happy to be charged with manslaughter is something went wrong.

I'd have to call her out at the time, or tell your manager you need to go home in front of her as your throat is closing up!

But she is having allergic reactions since someone returned eating nuts. She knows she has a severe nut allergy. My son has a nut allergy too. Most of his allergic reactions but from other things. It doesn’t change the fact that the OPs reality is very different.

I was literally just repeating what was told to me by specialists when I asked them the exact same question as OP. I was trying to be helpful as if I hadn't listened to them I may have missed my son's kiwi allergy. Again, I'm not saying OP isn't one of those rare cases, but considering airborne nut allergies are so rare (specialist team with over 70 years of experience between them had never come across one) it is worth ruling other things out. I hope she gets to the bottom of it.

Op before you get excited and involved hse/acas etc, read the advice anaphylaxis uk provides for employers.

Note that it:

• does not recommend nut bans
• does not suggest banning eating at desks

The focus is on awareness, labelling food, cleaning, knowing how to react to reactions. It suggests for example that allergy sufferers should not be included in hot desking.

Your employer could come back and make clear that employees aren't allowed nuts at YOUR workspace. They do not have to guarantee you a whole nut free office.

Like it or not, if she's a popular member of the team, they will not want to put in restrictions they don't legally have to, if it will piss her off.

Well firstly, you and your colleague need to take a couple of sick days every time she eats nuts in the office.

If that means coming in for one day then being off for 2/3 days then so be it.

Right now your manager is being a coward because you and the other allergy sufferer are still getting on with your work, even if you feel like crap but I bet they won’t be such a coward when you and the other sufferer are having multiple sick days.

Is this a recognised allergy with an epipen from the doctor?
If so, I’m surprised they’re not breaking the law and I can guarantee that if you had multiple sick days they couldn’t say anything as you would he within your rights.

Do you have a union?
I would speak to them and see what they say.
Perhaps join one.

My first thought was to not go in until she stops eating nuts, but I don’t think that’s going to help as she’ll continue doing it.
So everytime she does it, take time off.

She might start being more of an arse and eating them slyly to try and catch you out.

I wouldn’t be worried about making a scene and saying you need to leave.
I wouldn’t call an ambulance unless you really need to as they are overstretched.

Ive been told the same by a specialist re allergies - that airborne reactions are incredibly rare.

We realised my DC was reacting to animals. What tellytibby is saying is sensible advice - op could have anotber serious allergy she isn't aware of.

I can understand if you're worried about reporting your employer since you've still in a probation period. I would send an email to your manager referring back to other dates when you have told him about the risk. In the email offer to contact HSE to ask for guidance. This should prompt a response!

Tellytibby is actually correct, research on allegies agree with her, but most people are really ignorant about nut allergies and believe the myth about airbourne nut allergies.

What a nasty bitch. Surely its gross misconduct to try to kill your colleagues which is what she is doing. Get much much more vocal and formal in writing about the dangers. To everyone. Including her. What a cow.

Fucking hell ..... just when you think you've read it all

And your spineless colleagues refusing to give evidence. I'm surprised that wasn't an actual criminal offence to knowingly cause someone harm which could result in death.

OP you e had great advice here. But absolutely the best one is everything factual and in writing. If they then start the "your work isn't up to standard....." towards end of probationary period you can then respond "that's because I'm ill all day"

What an arse hole

I knew a girl so allergic to nuts she couldn’t go in the supermarket when the Xmas nuts were out as she had an airborne allergy.

Rare does not equal non-existent.

The selfishness of some people astounds me

I've only scanned the thread but was going to say the same about airborne nut allergies being much more rare than many think (I'm no expert but my DD has epipens for a peanut allergy).

OP you might have more luck if you work with her (although she sounds awful).

Ask her to wipe down her desk and keyboard, then wash her hands with soap (better with the oils) and brush her teeth after eating nuts. That should hugely reduce the risk of contract reactions and may solve the problem.

Ask to see the risk assessment, and specifically the section on allergies and an anaphylaxis and what controls are meant to be put in place. That might spur the manager into actually doing something as they have a legal responsibility.

there are guides and templates here-

https://www.anaphylaxis.org.uk/living-with-serious-allergies/allergens-in-the-workplace/

Could the nut free room be set up so that you ARE able to work in there? What facilities is it you need to use in the room where the nuts are allowed? There has to be a reason? And what is the reason the other room is nut free? It seems odd that they have that set up in place - is there another person with nut allergies?

@bruffin you will note op states "nuts" not peanuts
Peanuts are not treenuts, they are legumes.

If someone ate for example walnuts, and breathed near me I'd react.
Luckily my office mate isn't an arse hole so doesn't bring any to work. FFS.

The research shows there is no mechanism for that sort of reaction

The trials show that sitting in front of a bowl of peanuts only rarely causes a reaction. But in real life, people don't sit in front of a bowl. Nut eaters pick up nuts, grabbing a handful, and transfer them to their mouths usually while moving around and talking. Then they touch other things - in the office this could be the photocopier or other office supplies.
Air-borne allergy is rare, but protein transference is not!

What’s with the idiots gaslighting OP that she doesn’t have an allergy to airborne nuts?!

• OP presumably understands her condition

• Rare doesn’t equal non existent

• Her reactions started when her obnoxious colleague returned to work

• Her reactions actually coincide with her colleague eating nuts

• Nuts and peanuts are not the same

FFS

This! Air-borne allergy is less likely, but this colleague is presumably going around touching stuff - door handles, chair backs, keyboards, phones...

Either way, your nut-eating colleague is a dick and your manager is a limp lettuce.

You 100% deserve to be safe at work.

I'm so sorry OP, as a parent to a child with severe allergies it's terrifying how stupid people are.

I know nothing about workplace legalities but I think you need to be crystal clear with your manager, X is the problem, Y is the risk to my health, Z is the risk to the workplace (health and safety breaches, reputation, legal goings on, you could highlight some of the high profile cases like the pret fatalities)

There are many, many workplaces that are nut free (food factories, schools) so this is not a unknown thing and vegetarians there don't get to make their own rules

Do you have a union? They would take this on.

Don't call an ambulance unless you actually need one. Calling an ambulance to make a point could result in somebody else's death because help can't get to them in time.

Could you ask if the other less desirable office can be made the nut free one ? You shouldn't have to but would solve the problem. Otherwise I'd be really candid with your manager and say what you have done here - you love your job but you are genuinely worried about your health and will need to keep leaving if horrible woman keeps eating nuts in the same room. Please can you show him how to use the epipen and can you get assurances that needing to leave due to a reaction will not be flagged as a performance or attendance issue.

The woman sounds just horrible. I like nuts as well, they are a handy sugar free snack, but if I was told not to eat them I absolutely wouldn't. Another option is exaggerating your symptoms so everyone knows what is happening, they surely can't think her behaviour is reasonable.