to think that this might be slightly discriminating?

[LollipopViolet]

I'm bracing myself for a myriad of people saying YABU but I just want a general idea.

I'm visually impaired, I can't drive and to get to work rely on lifts or buses. To go home again, I'm relying on buses (15.45, when I don't finish til 16.00 or 19.30, when I finish no later than 6). Or a lift from my mate or granddad.

The oompany security people have been letting my granddad drop me off and pick me up on the carpark next to where I work for about 8 weeks (it's a staff car park). Today the conversation as far as I can gather went like this:

Security man: What're you here for sir?
Granddad: I'm picking up my granddaughter she works here. I pick her up at xxx point.
Security man: The Company have said all staff must be picked up/dropped off at the drop off point.
Granddad: She's visually impaired, it'd be dangerous for her with this traffic.
Security man: Repeat line above

My granddad was let in this time but this leaves us with huge problems, it would be very difficult, if not dangerous for me to negotiate the high traffic route to the drop off point...surely, after being told of my disability, allowances should be made?

And if not, why weren't we told this procedure from the start??

you're staff so why can't you use the staff carpark?! That makes no sense

I definitely think you have grounds for an exception to be made. COntact your HR dept perhaps.

Because we're not parking Lewisfan, otherwise it'd be a totally different matter! We're there literally 2 minutes. It's mad, I've got to speak to employee welfare next week so hr might be on the cards too.

YANBU - sounds perfectly reasonable to me. Was it a new security man or something? Could you go to HR and get them to sort it for you?

Contact HR immediately they should sirt it straight away.

Security man sounds like a robocop. he just needs to be told from someone higher up what the deal is.

Hope you get it sorted.

Can't you get a staff parking permit for the car park?

No, because (when the buses to home were more regular) last season (seasonal work) I was told that for dropping off we wouldn't need one...confusing or what??

LollipopViolet - I sugest you talk to HR. You have the right for reasonable adjustments to be made. This would include somewhere safe for you to be collected from work.

If you need more specific advice come and find me (and alot of other HR/employment law people) on the employment issues topic.

I recommend you take a casual approach at first, I would like to think your HR "person" will take this seriously and get your grandads car the right pass/permission. If that fails then you can take it up a notch but try a friendly chat first

I too was going to suggest staff parking permit.

I don't think it's necessarily discrimination. More like it hasn't been thought about properly. Security has their protocols and individual security guards probably don't have the authority to change the rules by themselves. I'd say you should investigate who you can speak to/write to about this problem. Go to the head of security and explain the situation. Ask if there is someone in your company that they deal with for special requests. I'm sure there is a way you can arrange to be picked up where you need. Perhaps they could give your granddad a badge or a letter to present when he arrives?

I agree wih callme allowing you to be picked up from a safe point would come under 'reasonable adjustments'.

They would have to have a bloody good reason to refuse you. I cant see a reason why they cannot give you a parking permit.

When I have come up against this sort of ignorance in the past I politely ask 'is this company/service excluded from the Disability Discrimination Act?' It ususally does the trick.

YANBU.

Under the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA), your employer has to make all reasonalble adjustments to enable you do your work, and I should think arriving and leaving for work safely would be included. Talk to your HR dept/Occupational Health Dept if you have one. Bear in mind that the security might be contracted out and the staff rotated regularly. If the car park does not belong to the company you work for, your HR Dept should at least try and negotiate something for you. If they are stroppy, approach your union rep if you have one. Mentioning the DDA should get someone's attention. Good luck, this type of thing is absolute BS.

I know for a fact all security are employed by the company. What confuses me most is why when I started work was the whole drop off point thing not pointed out?

Perhaps they didn't point it out as the people who actually employed you didn't see a problem with you being picked up in a safer place and didn't forsee security having a problem with it? Could just be a case of the right info not getting to the right people.

Ask HR to do a risk assessment of you being picked up in the unsafe position. Surely an employer has a duty of care to its employees?

agree with chegirl and callme. hopefully a gentle word with HR can sort this out for you.

can you get a letter from HR or whoever to show the security guard(who are not employed for their brain power )

or a parking permit?
you are not being unreasonable

You're being unreasonable to think it's discrimination but you're not unreasonable to expect to have an exception made. If you've not asked HR for a permanent exception to the pick up rules on the grounds of safety, you can't really blame the guards.

I'd be surprised if HR don't make it "legitimate" though, then the security guards know what to do (I suspect they like their rules ). I guess, technically, the guards don't have the authority to make exceptions. If they don't make an exception, then you have grounds to complain vociferously.