Bed bug compensation from work

[BedBugMotel]

Name change for this.

I work in a large multinational that makes billions in profit every year. I had to travel to Paris for work. They were being very stingy with the budget, and I could only afford the cheapest hotel on their "approved" list and had to take public transport. The hotel had reviews from the past saying there were bed bugs there.

I now think I have bedbugs - I'm going to the doctor for a diagnosis. If it turns out I do have bed bugs, could I get some kind of compensation from work? What evidence would I need? Who would I need to talk to?

We’re you bitten in Paris when staying in the hotel?

I’ve been bitten by bed bugs, the itchiness is insane! You would have been bitten whilst there and would know about it then. if you were then you should have taken precautions before bringing your belongings into your home. You could also have picked them up from public transport/restaurants etc so I’m not sure if you would be able to claim.

You would be better off getting a pest company to assess your home than a GP to look at bites tbh.

Where are the bites on your body? Is it a lot?
Could it be mosquitoes or midges etc?

I was bitten in Paris, but I thought it was just midges/mosquitoes (I was only there 2 days). I've been back for over a month and I'm getting more and more bites. I want to go to a GP/pharmacist to check it is bed bugs and not something else.

I've been bitten by midges/mosquitoes in the past on holiday, but I've never experienced anything like this. Bites are pretty much everywhere on my upper body (face, neck, hands, arms, back). As the month has gone on I've got more and more bites.

Re "being picked up from public transport/hotels", isn't this also my company's responsibility since they required me to be in Paris?

Your language around it is a bit weird. You don’t “have” bedbugs in the way you could have worms. If you’re being bitten lots and it’s bed bugs you should be able to find them in your bed. Have you looked it all the little crevices and things?

If I’d brought home bed bugs from a work trip I would have a go and getting work to pay for it definitely. I’m not sure where you’ll stand if they say no.

If it is bed bugs, then they are living in your bed, your GP will not be able to get rid of them for you. You need to talk to pest exterminators. Depending on your home insurance, you may be able to get help from them to cover the cost.

I think it will be very hard to prove that they came from the hotel you stayed at, so your work is likely to reject your claim. But you can always try and see what they say.

Can you post some photos of the bites?
Do they itch to the point you can’t not scratch them?
Are they in a line?

I still don't understand how you could feasibly get your work to pay for this.
Surely if anyone, it would be the hotel's responsibility.
Not sure how you can get very far with work

If you're still getting new bites etc then the bedbugs are in your bed, or it's something else like scabies.

An interesting legal question for an exam paper! The difficulty - I suspect - would be to prove that there were bed bugs in the hotel and that was where you got them due to the parsimony of your employer.

If it is a large company I'd guess you have union or staff association who could advise as a first step @BedBugMotel

Would you still be looking for compensation if you’d gotten bedbugs from a more expensive hotel? I don’t see how this is work’s fault.

I know the GP can't get rid of them. But I hoped they might be able to confirm whether the bites are bed bugs or something else (e.g., scabies, lice etc.).

I haven't seen anything in my bed. Which is why I haven't called an extermination company.

Re "would i be looking for compensation if I stayed in a more expensive hotel", the answer is that I would - if it is possible to get compensation for these things. However, from the replies here it sounds like it would be unlikely/difficult to prove.

Company doesn't have a union unfortunately as it is US-based.

Re photo, I have dark skin and they aren't coming up clearly in a photo, and don't look 100% like the bed bugs pictures online, which is why I'm keen on a professional opinion of what it is too.

Go to gp to see if they can determine what it is, but get pest control in to your home and let them check out your rooms, bed bugs will on ever increase in numbers and the amount of bites you get will increase. I am currently in discussions with a hotel chain after staying with them and getting bitten, 3 weeks after returning home we have started getting bitten again, hotel have confirmed it had bedbugs in the room we stayed in and it seems sadly we brought them home with us. It's incredibly stressful and we are waiting for their "expert" to come and check our bedrooms before they will agree to cover the cost. Don't delay in getting sorted op.

There aren't any more bedbugs in Paris than in London.
There never was.
It was a fucking Russian disinformation campaign.
And they're at it again now, just before the olympics... Just saw news in the fucking Sun that there is "another wave" - there wasn't one in the first place!
You can catch bedbugs from the cinema, pub, the tube, buses, hospital, your therapist's armchair, anywhere anyone has sat, and no, you can't ask any of them for compensation.
I had some in London.
You can never know where you got them from, regardless of what bit you in Paris in the night.

Did you make your employer aware of the reviews and specific vermin risk
involved with the cheap hotel before you booked?

Paris aside (🙄), if you keep on being bitten, call an extermination company and they will know where to look. They'll look for their droppings too (the guy who treated my London flat showed me all the tricks)... They'll tell you if they think you've got some.
As you're probably aware, they're thin, they hide, and come out at night. Disgusting things.

I'd think the hotel is culpable, not your employer.

I'd have thought that it would be the hotel who are liable rather than your company. Or at a push could you claim on travel insurance? I'm not sure how that works.

But I really dont see that your company owes you compensation...its not their fault the hotel has bedbugs.

Good question. I didn't because they constantly bombarded with messages of "be frugal", and said there was no additional budget. In the past, they make employees cover the costs themselves if they go over budget.

But didn't the company show negligence and put me in a risky situation by not giving sufficient budget for a hotel that takes precautions against bedbugs? And by not giving sufficient budget for taxis? Or by not making me go to Paris during an active infestation?

No? Your employer isn’t required to give you a large budget so you avoid a hotel with bedbugs, what a weird suggestion. You can get them anywhere. You also said you’d seek compensation if it had been an expensive hotel.

How on earth would you be able to prove that bedbugs you have in your bed now are the result of two nights in a hotel in Paris over a month ago?

There wasn't and there isn't an "active infestation". www.reuters.com/world/europe/russian-disinformation-hyped-paris-bedbug-scare-french-minister-says-2024-03-01/

God you're really clutching at straws aren't you

A GP or pharmacist won't be able to tell you if they're bedbug bites, as they look like any other insect bite. The only way to confirm it's bedbugs is to actually find one in your home.

A pest control company can come a check for you, or you can do it yourself.

The best way to check is to use the torch on your phone and a credit card - you swipe thr card in any gaps or cracks in your bed frame and use the torch to see what you dislodge. You're looking for small brown bugs that are the same shape as an apple pip but smaller.

@BedBugMotel there is no Infestation with bedbugs in Paris.
And there has never been.

It was one of those things that took off and were reported everywhere and then died off. It died off because there was nothing to report. Because there was no infestation- no more than usual at least.

Youd have some ground to stand in to make a fuss if you had seen the bugs in Paris and had been bitten then.
Now? They are in your house. You certainly need to have your mattress etc treated. But you can’t claim it’s all your company’s fault.

It does sound crap though I’d agree with you.