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Original poster

Glasses broken at work

28 replies

Yukduck · 17/08/2017 22:17

My spectacles were knocked off my nose by a patient with dementia and hit the wall. This patient is known to be punchy and violent to staff. I was on my own and doing her feed. My optician said they are beyond repair. Both lenses are scratched, one is chipped and the arm has broken away from the lense on one side.

My employer is not interested. The specs are 2yrs old so probably need to be replaced but I feel they could have gone on another few years as my prescription has not changed and I do look after them well. I have a spare set of specs but not as nice and don't feel right now as they are probably slightly different prescription.

Anyone had this happen? What did you do? Sadly being a care worker I am not rich. The broken specs were £350 approx and I pushed the boat out when I treated myself to them. If I claim I have a £200 excess and my premiums will go up.

OP posts:

NonnoMum · 17/08/2017 22:22

Oh no! That is a really tricky situation.
I would go back to your employer - or are you in a union? Maybe the union has a hardship fund...
Do not claim on your home insurance...

LadyLapsang · 17/08/2017 22:45

I think your employer should pay or at least make a considerable contribution.

Original poster

Yukduck · 17/08/2017 22:52

I am not in a union sadly. My employer is sympathetic but not interested. The patient would not know what she is doing and it is up to us to manage the flailing arms and fists.

I just wondered if this had happened to anyone else and what did you do?

OP posts:

NonnoMum · 17/08/2017 22:57

It may seem difficult but I'd strongly recommend joining a union...

Not sure what others have done but do thin you need to ask for a meeting with your line manager or boss...

Squarerouteofsquirrel · 18/08/2017 00:10

you can join the union, but unless your employer recognises the union it doesn't really mean anything. The union can provide you with advice, but that's about it.

wheredoesallthetimego · 18/08/2017 00:12

£350 specs to wear to work? I am aware if a similar case where even the union rep would only support claiming a proportion back as it was felt that wearing such an expensive item to work was ridiculous.

SoPassRemarkable · 18/08/2017 00:23

Ridiculous? My glasses cost about that....the frames are £60'specsavers mid range, the rest is my expensive, complex lenses which I have no choice about!

Yes, I think your work should pay!

OliviaStabler · 18/08/2017 00:39

Shouldn't your workplace have insurance you can claim off if you have to deal with volatile patients?

Bumply · 18/08/2017 01:08

My glasses cost more than £450. The only luxury element to that is paying extra for thin lenses so they don't weigh a ton.
Not everyone has the option for cheap eye correction.

I personally have insurance with my opticians to cover breakage, but surely if they are damaged whilst going about your work your employer should have some responsibility to compensate.

daisychain01 · 18/08/2017 05:02

Household insurance tends to be an expensive option, often with a high excess.

I'd check with your opticians as they often can provide bespoke insurance just for your glasses. Just need to check that the cover provided is relevant to your type of work where a 3rd party might cause the damage e.g. a patient.

Your employers should contribute to replacing them although I suspect they will only offer a basic set of frames and lenses not the more expensive ones. But at least you could have a work pair and later get a nice pair to wear outside work. Maybe ask work if they will pay for the insurance if it's likely to happen again.

Good luck!

Original poster

Yukduck · 18/08/2017 19:30

My specs are only expensive because my eyes are complex. The cost is in having thin lenses so I don't get nasty dents in my nose sadly.

I take on board that cheapest possible specs within my needs would have been a better idea but when I bought the specs I was doing an office job (and was given a £65 voucher towards them which helped) so I splurged. You tend to just wear them after a while and don't really think until something happens like this.

I will replace with something less costly (within my needs) and maybe work will be more sympathetic if I ask again with a lower price to give them. I can then save up for a nicer pair for going out.

OP posts:

FadedRed · 18/08/2017 19:39

wheredoesalltherimego you must be blessed with decent eyesight to make that comment. The lenses I need cost the best part of £400 and cheap frames do not work with high prescription lenses.
People who need complex prescriptions, who are obliged to wear their spectacles all their waking hours, are forced to pay outrageous prices to ensure they have something adequate and comfortable to wear.

Dailystuck71 · 19/08/2017 17:49

Ridiculous? My glasses cost more than that. I wear them all the time. Cannot function without them. £350 is cheap. Wind your neck in.

woodhill · 19/08/2017 17:52

Yes the employer should contribute as it's not your fault. Accident at work effectively.

I'm having new glasses which cost £350 with vari focal prescription. Glasses are expensive.

SnickersWasAHorse · 19/08/2017 17:58

£350 specs to wear to work?
That's how much glasses cost for anything more complicated than regular readers. And £350 for something that you will wear every day on your face for about 5 years isn't so bad.

Moreisnnogedag · 19/08/2017 18:05

Do look online for replacement glasses. I buy mine as whilst very short-sighted with some astigmatism they work out very cheap in comparison.

Honestly though in some ways you've got to balance how likely your work are to cough up and how unpleasant your working environment could be.

wheredoesallthetimego · 19/08/2017 21:57

The OP said they pushed the boat out to treat themselves to these glasses, therefore I assumed that a sizeable chunk of the £350 was discretionary.

Bumdishcloths · 19/08/2017 22:57

Mine were about £370, of which £90 was the frames. My lenses have to be thinned to within an inch of their life, plus I wear them all the time so spending a pittance on them would be a false economy.

My face goes to work, so my glasses have to, too - don't have much choice tbh

Viviennemary · 19/08/2017 23:01

I think your employer should at least pay towards a new pair as the original pair weren't new. They should have insurance to cover this. But I don't know what your legal rights are. I think it's wrong that they take no responsibility for this.

Piglet208 · 19/08/2017 23:05

I'm a teacher. A few years ago a child with sn punched me and broke my glasses. The school claimed on their insurance ( I provided a receipt) and I got the full amount. You should have completed an incident/accident form at work. Make sure this details the damage o the glasses.

iamapixiebutnotaniceone · 19/08/2017 23:07

A colleague of mine was punched in the mouth by a resident, the company paid for her to have a dentist check up.

Masonbee · 19/08/2017 23:12

Another (former) teacher here who has twice had glasses damaged by a child at work, replaced both times by the schools (two separate ones) at full cost, no quibbles. I don't know what the legal situation is, but I feel they should replace them. Not sure if that helps you though
Good luck!

DameDiazepamTheDramaQueen · 19/08/2017 23:13

Perfectly normal price for glasses ,what an odd comment

I would think your employer should claim on insurance. Hope you manage to get something sorted.

OlennasWimple · 19/08/2017 23:14

That's a very standard amount for glasses, sadly. Not like you were wearing a Rolex or a Tiffany bracelet or something obvious OTT to work...

Your employer should have insurance that you can claim on. Don't let them fob you off!

HeddaGarbled · 19/08/2017 23:17

The laws around accidents at work are mostly to do with personal injury rather than damage to property but there are laws and I don't think that your employers are complying with them.

All incidents should be recorded in an accident book. Did this happen?

The patient was known to be a risk to staff. A risk assessment should have been done and measures put in place to protect staff. Did this happen?

A union would support you with this and you don't need your employer's permission to join one. You just find the appropriate one and join. However, it's too late for this incident. Unions won't take on cases that occurred before you joined. In the future, I would urge you to join a union and encourage all your colleagues too as well. Management can fuss and say they don't recognise the union but it will still offer you all a level of protection of there are further incidents.

My advice now is to consult the Citizens' Advice Bureau to see if you can challenge this legally. If you have house insurance, maybe talk to the insurers about this. Sometimes the policy has legal expenses cover or just talking to someone who knows a bit about legal liability could be helpful. Your MP's surgery might also be a source of information.

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