Regarding disabled parking

[appendix]

I work for a small company. We have office space in a small building which houses a number of other companies. There is just about enough adequate parking for all employees in terms of number of spaces.
Here is where I think I've messed up. I'm operations manager. The company is too small to have HR (we outsource things like payroll) so often HR adjacent queries end up with me.

We have 2 disabled employees. One (Sue) has significantly mobility limitations and uses a big motorised wheelchair. The other (Lynda) has less significant mobility issues (ie doesn't need a wheelchair, can walk small distances.) Both are have blue badges.

There are 3 disabled spaces in the carpark. One can be discounted as it's always in use by an employee of another company in the building who starts work very early. Out of the remaining 2 only one is big enough to accommodate Sue's needs (electric ramp for a big wheelchair etc). The issue we have is that Lynda insists on parking in it. She gets to work earlier than Sue who has childcare limitations and always parks there. It's causing a lot of frustration and ill will, especially as the other non wheelchair sized space is actually closer to the entrance, so it seems a perverse choice.

There has been a lot of grumbling among staff about this. It was especially bad a few days ago when Sue had to call for assistance - she had to get out of her car at the entrance and a colleague had to park her vehicle for her. Lynda sits watching this. Other staff members have spoken to her and asked if she could park in the other, closer space but she refuses.

Note- Sue and Lynda have clashed a bit over the years- there's only one disabled loo on our floor and yet they seem to always need it at the same time etc. I've been reliably informed that Lynda won't park close to the entrance because then her start and leave times will be visible to everyone- the other larger space is around a bend and can be accessed via a side door so her in and outs are not visible.

Anyway, we have spoken multiple times to the people who own the offices. They give no shits. The car park is apparently compliant in terms of spaces and they're not prepared to do anything more.

Our company owner has now said that whichever employee gets in first needs to park next to her reserved space and let reception know. When Sue arrives the person in the space next to the reserved one nips out, moves their car and Sue parks across both spaces. Owner then just parks where she can find a space.

It's not ideal especially in the rain. It's caused massive ill will towards Lynda who has just come to me and said she feels she's being bullied due to her disability. (She's not being included in lunch orders or social stuff organised by staff themselves, although she is fully included in terms of her job.) Honestly the company owner doesn't feel particularly warm towards her.

I'm not a HR person. I felt that as she wasn't being excluded in terms of work etc there's not a lot I can do about people liking her and I pretty much told her that. I was talking to a friend about it though and they said we could actually be in trouble for not including her in lunches/ social things, especially as it's because of issues caused by a disability. (She's invited to all work organised events, just not informal staff drinks / lunches/ chats/ coffee rounds organised by the staff)

I'm going to suggest getting some HR advice but was I wrong?

You're swapping Sue and Lynda around...

But if Lynda is coming and going in a manner befitting her contract (ie the hours are flexible between 8 and 4 so long as she gets work done) then she could further claim discrimination/bullying that someone is spreading rumours she isn't fulfilling her contract. You also need to be careful because you make it sound a bit like you resent the fact her disability might mean she needs further adjusts with her work load...

Make another spot a disabled bay and debadge the larger one but mark as reserved for the person who needs it.

I refer you to my point that any solution involving spending money will be a non starter. That's just experience over the years with a constellation of employers.

There are recent cases that being left out of informal staff things does constitute bullying which is why you do really need HR advice on this.

Maternity leave one (note this was not a formal staff party)

www.winstonsolicitors.co.uk/blog/invite-all-staff-christmas-party

Whether disabled or not, at work or not; nobody can force other people to like them and to do them favours, especially if it's their own behaviour which strongly disinclines people to want to do so.

You can't force people to like other people but you can reasonably claim bullying if one person is consistently and deliberately left out of the office coffee round or if everyone in the office says "we are all going to Nandos for lunch" but explicitly leaves one person out

This

Please get proper HR advice. There are too many assumptions and not enough facts. And you need to tackle this properly.

Also Lynda might have a reason for using bigger space that she knows you don’t deem worthy but would still trip you up.

for example, she may have an issue that affects her spatial awareness so find the bigger space easier. Using the space in front of the office may make her anxious because everyone can see you parking as you do it (personally I HATE that) .

You add in that she feels bullied she may even say that being able to leave and enter the building without being stared at and whispered about is exactly why she wants to park round the side!

This. There's enough disabled parking but she's choosing to be difficult.

Can Lynda claim that she is being left out of socials due to her disability, if Sue is being included in them regardless of her disability?

Can you lock the side door so that everyone has to come and go through the front? Then the need for the space around the corner will disappear and her line manager will be able to monitor her comings and goings- which sound like they are an issue.

Not being in a wheelchair doesn't mean you don't need a larger space if you have mobility issues. I need a wider space because I have to get the right angle in and out of the car otherwise my hip dislocates. The issue might not be as visible as a wheelchair but it's an issue nevertheless

It sounds like the whole company has done a top trumps of disability and has decided Lynda doesn't know her own needs for her disability and is taking part in social collective punishment in order to shame her back into her own space in the disability hierarchy they have created.

I second the recommendation someone made to get an external HR company in. You and the owner seem to be blaming Lynda for the need for this advice but I would say it's the rest of the company who are dictating the need. Conversations about disability needs should be between Lynda and her manager and yet somehow everyone is gossiping and judging her needs, putting her on the spot by asking her to park elsewhere and bulling her.

I would probably move forward with something like "for fire safety reasons, all staff need to sign in and out at the front desk" with time for each signing in and out. This means that if there is a fire, then you know exactly who should be in the building, in case anyone needs rescuing, plus people can't claim they started earlier than whoever signed in before them ;)

Surely all three spaces have cross-hatching on either side that would accommodate this? The additional space for a motorised wheelchair ramp is something else.

Any chance of a diagram @appendix ?

Can you ask IT to pull everybody's login records to determine if anybody (Lynda) is not working their contracted hours. This could be used to reprimand any workers that are taking the piss and would be factual evidence as opposed to hearsay.

Any reprimands would have to be fairly applied - e.g. if it turned out that somebody else had similar deficits, they'd need to be reprimanded as well.

If the data showed that it was a single employee (Linda) that was working far below their contracted hours, you'd need to consult with HR / Legal on how to proceed. Many work contracts have a gross misconduct 'dereliction of duty' clause relating to going awol in work hours.

Ah I had misunderstood the width etc that the OP was talking about. I have worked in places where the disabled space is just the spot nearest the door with no extra width around it, so I assumed the one everyone wanted was the only one with cross-hatching

Apologies, I'm too used to entirely crappy disabled parking spots in work places

All local authorities can do this. Some choose not to

Yes

If her disability means she is entitled to use a disabled parking bay (which it does as she has a blue badge) and she is being deliberately left out of workplace drinks/meals/outings, especially within working hours, because employees feel she is using something she isn't entitled to

You really need to understand "reasonable adjustments". Trying to be clever like this isn't really a good idea.

I think you have your ratios the wrong way round. Some will tell her it's fine, many more would tell her she's being selfish when the other spot meets her needs.

There obviously isn't enough for me SUITABLE blue badge parking

The spaces need to be the same size ?

It could be seen as disability discrimination, that your colleagues are saying she's not disabled enough to use the spot she uses. Technically the spots are all equal. As to the assumption she's 'hiding' her start time- she comes in earlier than the other lady, so you know at least roughly what time she starts, and I assume others are in the office, so same for finish time. Exclusionary behaviour- not including her in lunch orders, etc, actually could have ramifications, it can be seen as bullying in the workplace. She parks there for reasons she doesn't need to disclose. Maybe she is being selfish and mean, maybe she isn't, I don't think her colleagues should be excluding her though

Can you ask IT to pull everybody's login records to determine if anybody (Lynda) is not working their contracted hours.

As an IT manager, I would hesitate. Our system is only used for fire checks. Trying to use it for timekeeping would be a crate of cans of worms.

Obviously if the system is meant for timekeeping, then crack on. But I would suspect it isn't. Because (there is a theme here) that costs money.

I've been reliably informed that Lynda won't park close to the entrance because then her start and leave times will be visible to everyone- the other larger space is around a bend and can be accessed via a side door so her in and outs are not visible.

Thinking laterally, can you inform all staff that CCTV has now been installed on the side door for security reasons.

I asked this! It's a delivery entrance so no. Our passes work to open it. We're really not the type of company that clocks peoples ins and outs but this has got so fraught that people are looking at her.
I do think in that if we start looking at Lynda for hours in and out we will have to go the same for everyone. That'll make her hugely unpopular.

yep, Lynda has found out what #FAFO means

But she literally is being bullied and it is a direct result of her needing a disabled parking space. I would tread very very carefully.

I think the best solution is for the parking spaces to be redesigned without discussion with Lynda or anyone else, so that everyone who needs it can use it regardless of what anyone else's needs are. So that the person who needs the biggest space can use all of them. And that should be it.

There is no way to address this with Lynda, or anyone else, without it becoming a big hot potential employment tribunal mess.