To ask if you think HR would accept I need to work from home because of this?

[Yuap]

I have been having bouts of excessive bleeding. I ended up having surgery four weeks ago which showing thickening of the lining of the womb but no real answer as to why it was happening. I’ve been told it could be endometriosis. My period week is extremely bad and then the days after I tend to get another bout of it. It wipes me out and obviously I feel very uncomfortable travelling or being in public. I want to suggest I will come into the office in the weeks where this isn’t happening. Will this be allowed on the basis of a medical issue? I’m very stressed about it all and don’t want to lose my job

Depends on how your organisation thinks about these things and your job.

Have you been there more than 2 years?
Endometriosis could be classed as a disability requiring reasonable adjustments. But if you have a stone age management they'll try and say it's not reasonable and you need to be in the office and they'll make it really hard because it will be dismissed as "women's issues".

Best of luck

@porridgebath yes been there nearly ten years. I don’t have it actually stated I have endometriosis but it’s been suggested by the gp. While it’s all being looked into I just didn’t want to have to go off sick to avoid the office

Absolutely. Endo UK have advice for employers and employees.

You've been there for 10 years and you think your employer would be this unreasonable to say no to this?! You must know what kind of employer they are by now. Of course this is entirely reasonable and I can't imagine after 10 years of trust any employer saying no to this.

when I had a similar problem the blood loss was so excessive I couldn't have gone into work.- and probably not got a lot done from home either.
What was the surgery - was it supposed to stop the heavy bleeding, or purely explorative to determine what the problem was? (Hysteroscopy I think, was a long while ago)

I ended up with a Mirena coil, stopped the bleeding, no more periods, bliss!

Probably - I WFH due to endometriosis. I need access to a heat pad, medication and not to drive if I've had morphine

It's a reasonable request as long as you are actually well enough to work on these days.

Yes. Please disclose this because if you don’t, your absence may be viewed negatively. Whereas if you have disclosed this information, then you are protected and they can support you.

I have a colleague who does this. Is your job fully flexible I.e. you can work pretty much just as well from home?

First step- get a fit note from your GP backing you up. 'May be fit for work' with adjustments.

Do you have Occupational Health provision?

I think it would depend on a few factors, in all likelihood.

1. can you actually do all aspects of your job just as effectively from home? Especially if you think/want this to be a longer term change, then you need to be able to do all necessary aspects of your job (and to your employers satisfaction) from home.
2. are you are seeking a permanent change to your contract? If so, I think they may need to consider wider implications and how this impacts the organisation. I imagine a temporary change may be viewed differently than a request for permanent change of contract.
3. I am not convinced that you can claim protections/adjustments under disability legislation due to a diagnosis of endometriosis just yet because you don’t actually have that diagnosis. As things stand, your GP has raised it as a possibility- it’s not been diagnosed. I suspect claiming protections in the basis of a condition that you don’t yet have confirmed is probably not the best way to go. It might backfire.

I think you best bet is to explain your symptoms and what you think the best solution is (I.e. working from home at times) and see what they say.

@MyProudHare oh I didn’t know a gp could suggest an adjustment! Thank you I will speak to them

GP’s can give you a fit note stating you are unfit to be at work at all. Or, they can issue one to say that you are only fit to work if certain conditions are met- e.g. reduced hours or amended duties (such as “no heavy lifting”) or other conditions such as a phased return to work after a period of absence. The fit note states that if the amendments cannot be made, then you are not fit for work.

However, your GP can’t tell your employer that you can only work from home. It’s too specific and not really their place to demand it. For example, if you are too fatigued (as you said you are wiped out) it could be argued that you need to work fewer hours rather than working from home. Occupational health may be a better way to go for specific recommendations.

It doesn’t need to be officially diagnosed to be classed as a disability - just needs to have lasted over 12 months/expected to last that long and be having an impact on your day to day life which it clearly is. Occupational health would be a good place to start

''You’re disabled under the Equality Act 2010 if you have a physical or mental impairment that has a ‘substantial’ and ‘long-term’ negative effect on your ability to do normal daily activities.''
https://www.gov.uk/definition-of-disability-under-equality-act-2010

WFH would be a reasonable adjustment for a medical condition.

Sorry OP - YANBU, but I clicked the wrong one. So discount one of the 'unreasonable' votes.

As far as I recall, fit notes were introduced to acknowledge the fact that sometimes people are not medically fit to carry out their job as it currently stands but that with adjustments they would be able to / they can carry out certain elements of their job.

100% reasonable.

I have endo and haven't taken a sick day since I got the chance to work from home. Some days I just need to have a hot water bottle and take it easier than others.

It's a completely reasonable request and a GP would support same.

It's a completely reasonable adjustment to a medical matter.