To disagree with my mannager about if diarrhea is reason to WfH

[HonestPenguin]

How bad would diarrhoea need to be for you to work from home?

I have had bowel surgery, and from time to time I get what I would consider to be severe diarrhoea. As an example, over the last 24 hours I have been to the toilet 14 times. It’s all very watery, and I feel some nausea and just vaguely unwell.

When talking to my manager, I explained that from time to time I may need to work from home more than expected, as a result of the bowel surgery and the severe diarrhoea I sometimes experience. Her response was to say that we all get stomach bugs and that I need to meet the expectation.

The symptoms you describe are humiliating and distressing for you and would be unpleasant for other toilet users. I would have hated to have other people present feeling like that.

I agree with all the posters who advised to get a letter of support from your GP and then go straight to occupational health and ask for reasonable adjustments. Ive never naturally and the symptoms you describe. It sounds like the time I was preparing for a colonoscopy and had to continually run to the loo. There is no way I could have worked in an office or travelled.

You're manager is an idiot, get a note from your GP.

Get free legal advice and draft a formal letter.

I work for the NHS. Guidence is 48 hours off work after diahhorea.

You either need to fight this with reasonable adjustments, HR and the union (if you have one). Or you phone in sick each time you are unwell. Or you leave.

This is awful for you and you are trying to work whilst being so unwell.

No one should go in with a tummy bug either because you'll all have tummy bugs including you!

Are you in a Union? If not, I suggest you join one asap.

She's lucky if you work at all after the surgery!!

'we all get stomach bugs from time to time' - yes true, and nobody should be expected to work with a bug. She sounds like a moron

@Friendlygingercatit does feel like colonoscopy prep eg lots verry watery with out the cramps of a bug. After a day or so goes to light yellow with out much smell

@Nearly50omgunfortunately it doesnt seen to be an intollerance of A particular food. Peas, sweetcorn and popcorn can all be a problem. The thougjht isis that it may be bial acid diarrhea adfter surgery.

I’m sorry to hear you have such an awful manager @HonestPenguin
I have a lady working for me who has had bowel cancer and has several issues and we do whatever we can to support her and she also has episodes like this which are very difficult and embarrassing for her too.
I would urge you to contact your Hr department/ occy health - to try to get the issue resolved. We (in the nhs) risk assessment and make what we refer to as “a reasonable adjustment” which I would absolutely be applying in your case.

Ask her to refer you to occupational health who will decide what adjustments are required.. and of course I think going to the toilet 14 times a day would mean it’s reasonable to stay at home

Your manager is stupid but you also approached it wrong. I would have raised it as reasonable adjustment for chronic health condition, which it is and request to have a RA passport. They can’t say no to that

I'm a bolshy cow, so I would probably go into very graphic detail about the liquid poo running down my legs in the train and staining my clothing in public, then seeping into the chair covers at work.

She needs a reminder of the provisions of the Equality Act and her duty to make reasonable adjustments. A firm and clear email should help her recollection.

I would ask to be referred to Occupational health and ask for a reasonable adjustment to be allowed to WFH when you need to because of bowel surgery.

Sorry OP that sounds really hard. Your manager is an idiot.

@cucumber4745
The conversation was actuallyy about an OH report and how i had not been in one week this month but then done a full week. My manager then said she didn’t think I needed adjustments because we have all gone in with stomach bugs.

@Allergictoironing
I was tempted to either take a photo of the toilet or drop off a stool sample when sge said she didn’t see a reason why I couldnt go in.

As I said before @HonestPenguin your GP should give you a ‘fit to work’ with adjustment, the adjustment that you WFH. Your Manager has to abide by that.

Apart from which, if you had a stomach bug, would she want everyone to get it? That could be dangerous for anyone with a compromised immune system. I don’t think HR would back her up it people then said she made them come into the office.

Does your OH report state that your condition is likely to be covered by the Disability Act? If so they could be breaking the law by not listening to the suggestions.

As an aside if you are having lots of diarrhoea and then tingling/cramps you really need your electrolytes checked asap. Diarrhoea can cause things like low potassium which can have those symptoms, and can also be very dangerous for your heart.

@Doctordoolittle

This OH report doesn’t opine on if the condition is a disability. However, in a previous organisation an OH report has.

I don’t know how to get my electrolytes checked. In a previous admission for pancolitis I was given calcium tablets because of low calcium. But when I mentipon the tingling or cramps to 101 or my GP its not taken on and reception say its too separarte isues.

Go and get some electrolytes from the pharmacy - or have them delivered.

You can’t just tell your manager you need to WFH, it needs to be formalised.

The trouble is they won't give in, I've just had a quit a job because i have been diagnosed with fibromyalgia this year, being chained to a desk 37.5 hours a week was declining my health, my hands were bad with fibromyalgia flares and RSIs and the afternoon fatigue was hell.

I was made to justify myself in meeting rooms so many times, I was questioned accusingly about things in my private Rheumatologists report and the occupational health one. I felt persecuted for asking to finish two hours earlier each day. They let me start finishing at 3pm in July, I waited for a revised contract to come and then come the end of the 6 weeks holidays I was dragged into a meeting again and told I couldn't finish st 3pm - the directors niece joined the team earlier this year and immediately changed her working hours so she could start later and disappear to pick the kids up from school in the afternoons so I guess that's why they wanted to take that earlier finish time off me - they lied that phone calls weren't being answered but I could see on the system that maybe 5 calls come in between 3 & 5 and the other staff were answering them, they lied that my occupational health report didn't mention fatigue being UK the afternoon - it mentioned it twice so I highlighted it and sent them the report again. They would t stop lying and wouldn't budge. It was absolutely illegal as misconduct but all I could do was quit and save myself further health decline and battles in the future that I don't want to have.

I have skills and experience that they could have let me go out and be a bit more field based with but they refused me any job variation either. It felt very cruel and now I have to find some self employment income streams / part time job because I don't want to go through anything like that again.

I've just been through a situation at my now ex-employers with my fibromyalgia which they were happy to break every rule in the book, they weren't bothered about disability laws, committing misconduct by inventing fake business hardships to stop me working a few less hours a week, they lied that my occupational health report didn't mention afternoon fatigue - it did twice! The problem is that nobody in government is policing companies to make sure the they aren't breaking fundamental rules to avoid giving even a bit of support to an employee. What can you do when they say they are happy to break laws to make your situation untenable!