Disability worsened because of new working practices

[inawe]

NC for this, and some details vague as it is very outing.

I work in public sector, NHS but not medical staff. I've worked there for 25 years, and about 8 years ago I was diagnosed with a condition that is classed as a disability. Work knew about this. It's manageable and up until earlier this year has not caused any problems at work.

A few months ago a change in the job meant that we now have to do something twice a week that has caused my condition to massively worsen. I'm in a great deal of pain because of what we now have to do (it involves heavy lifting), and for the first time ever I've been hating going in to work. We have never had any training in heavy lifting.

I raised it with my manager, who said to me that he doesn't see what the problem is, and I've never complained about pain before. Er yes, like that's because I avoid things that cause pain! He stated that I have no choice but to carry out this new task in the job.

Probably stupidly, I did carry on, but it has become unbearable. I've now complained about this four times and the answer is always the same - I have to do it. I do have an email trail of all of this, including my manager saying I have no choice but to do this, and that I am letting my team down if I refuse to do it. He stated that if this task isn't done, it means that the department can't function properly and I would be letting our service users down.
I have also spoken to my doctor about this and he said I should not be doing it.

A few weeks ago I took it to the union, who were horrified. They had a meeting with my manager's boss, and basically laid the law down that this comes under disability discrimination. For a week, I was taken off the task. Two weeks ago I came in to work and was told I had to do it, as there was no one else available to do it that day. I refused, and went home sick. I saw my doctor the next day and I have been signed off until the end of next week with pain and swelling from my disability, and also with anxiety as a result of the situation.

I spoke to my union rep during last week, and my boss wants me to come to mediation about this. I do not want to do this, but I'm sort of stuck as to what I do next. My union has suggested raising a grievance, but the thought of that raises my anxiety sky high.

I'm pretty close to retirement age, was planning on retiring a little early in three years time. But I've lost all trust in management handling this situation in a decent way. They've been guilt tripping me about not wanting to do something that causes me days of severe pain, to the extent that I can't dress myself or drive, and I know from other colleagues that my boss has been painting me as being unreasonable and not a team player.

The pain that I had was originally restricted to one part of my body, but since doing this it has spread. On reading up about my condition it appears that this is something that can happen if you do things that make it worse. It's affecting my mental health too, and I've been prescribed antidepressants for the first time in my life.

Does anyone with a knowledge of employment law, particularly disability discrimination, know what would be my best course of action? It's made me really ill, both physically and mentally.

@amazeandastonish I'm glad things worked out well for you.

@inawe this is absolutely appalling. Your manager is doing what they need to which is keep in touch with you during any period of absence. If they have an ounce of sense they'll have spoken to hr who will advise them to do this.

I work in HR and im shocked at this. I would be taking this very seriously. However it's also worth noting that that will mean different things depending on the lens you're looking at the situation in.

From a work perspective they need to act immediately and get a risk assessment done and try and damage limit the situation. That will (should) include regular welfare calls with you once they are "aware" of the problem.

For you personally, I would urge you to consider your position. If you don't want to return and in 3 years time you're due to retire, you should consider how much it would cost you to leave now without those final pension payments. Work it out because you may need that further down the line. Raise a grievance in the meantime and if you want help with that please PM me and I'll help you with your letter. Going through the grievance process can be stressful so it's important to really spell out the concern and what that looks like so that they can investigate properly. If you have a good union rep they can help too.

You may, as some point, want to broach a Without prejudice conversation with your employer, esp if grievance isn't upheld and the appeal also. You will need to complete the process if you want to go to tribunal and also ensure it's done without undue delay. I don't work for the NHS so I don't know if they will broach a WP conversation with you. They may do.

Ultimately though, you have 2 options once any process is complete which are stay and work til your retirement or negotiate an exit package. Remembering those 2 options will help because it's very easy to fall into the rabbit hole of focussing on what has happened rather than what needs to happen moving forward.

Please feel free to PM me if you want any help with this

@fuckyourpronouns Thank you, I may well take you up on that.

I thought this BBC article was timely- NHS HR are certainly not friends of employees!

www.facebook.com/228735667216/posts/10159105715687217/?d=n

@inawe it's an interesting perception for sure! HR are there to ensure that the company is compliant and consider the well-being of its employees and do its best to achieve a good working environment.

Unfortunately the actions of individuals can mean that this mission appears to be in conflict and therefore at that stage the role of HR is to ensure that as much as possible is put into play to reduce any risk to both the company and the employee.

I wouldn't say that they're on either side per se - but they are there to protect the employer.

Surely HR need to be informed so they can rein in this utter tool. He's opening the flood gates to legal action against them. And not just from you OP. Heavy lifting with no heavy lifting training is an issue for everyone working for him. But forcing someone with a disability to do it is beyond the pale. Unbelievable.

What weights are we talking about here OP? 16 kg is the absolute upper limit for women but can be as low as 3 kg depending on how you are having to lift.

@FatCatThinCat I don't know how much the items weigh - they are very heavy, impossible for one person to move on their own. On castors but about 7 feet high and 8 or 9 feet long.

That does sound really bad. My son is 33 kg so double the upper limit for a woman but I can still lift him, just about, and I have a serious back injurty. If it's impossible for one person to move it then it sounds like it may well be over the limit for 2 people also. Because you don't double the limit if 2 people are moving it. This guide explains it:

www.virtual-college.co.uk/resources/which-legislation-applies-to-manual-handling

But bottom line is your are in the right. Your manager is an idiot. You just need to get your union, occupational health and HR on board to deal with him.

@FatCatThinCat Also, no risk assessment has been done, and none of us have received manual handling training.

Why on earth is your union not taking a strong lead on dealing with this. This is outrageous.

@Mumzoo5070 They are now. I didn't involve them until a few weeks ago, when the situation was bad enough, but it's escalated since then.

Boss is now trying to say I can't bring a union rep into a meeting to discuss this! I've emailed back saying that I don't agree to that. I'm absolutely sick of him and his shit.

Sounds like he is an arse and a bully. Good luck

What's the meeting @inawe ? Is this a general well-being meeting with your line manager? It wouldn't be usual practice for an employee to take a union rep to those meetings unless there was an exceptional reason why. You have no right of representation at a general meeting. Only a formal one.

Don't put yourself in a position where you're seen to be difficult. Go to the meeting. Ask for the agenda beforehand so you know what's being discussed (if it's a well-being check in then there probably won't be one) and take notes. Follow up with an email of what you discussed at that meeting so you have something in writing.

Sorry pressed send too soon. If you have raised a formal grievance and the meeting is to discuss it then you do have the right to bring your union rep

[quote inawe]@FatCatThinCat I don't know how much the items weigh - they are very heavy, impossible for one person to move on their own. On castors but about 7 feet high and 8 or 9 feet long. [/quote]
Are you lifting them or is it moving them about on the castors?

Just thinking of the need to be v succinct as your manager sounds like he'd be pedantic and run with the 'aaa you're not meant to be lifting' so it's more of a moving and handling issue?

@inawe

Oh, I forgot to mention that I asked my manager to report this as a workplace injury and he refused, saying it wasn't!

OP, pp have made very sensible suggestions.

Your manager cannot refuse to report this as an accident at work. There should be a process for recording accidents in the accident book. This is known as RIDDOR www.hse.gov.uk/riddor/. I would email HR and your Facilities team using heading RIDDOR and ask how to record in accident book. Record the manual handling and injury in the accident book - it maybe an online form. Keep a copy.

When you are ready to return to work contact your GP and ask for a fit note stating “you may be fit for work provided reasonable adjustments of absolutely no manual handling are adhered to”.

@fuckyourpronouns I have no wish to be seen as difficult, but my union rep is concerned that as my boss has lied in writing, and about what was or was not said in a previous meeting, he is not to be trusted and it would be detrimental to my mental health to be in a meeting alone with him. All trust is gone, and frankly we consider his behaviour to be bullying. I am going to take a formal grievance, and we are also looking at the possibility of an injury at work claim. To be honest, after how I've been treated in the last four months, and having done some number crunching in the past few days and realising that I am better off than I thought I was pension wise, I'm actually thinking about retiring a bit earlier than planned. Also, having this as a new, viable option has given me a psychological boost, as I feel like I now have a positive way forward, whatever the outcome.

OP good update.

As you are NHS may I recommend some research topics in relation to your pension:

• McCloud remedy
• compensation scheme options including efficiency dismissal and approved early retirement.

These can give you useful information later on in the process if a settlement agreement is mooted as an option on how to amicably resolve this.

All staff should have had manual handling training and extra for safe practice with heavy goods, this is usual in the NHS for all employees. HR and OH are the ones to help, I would be looking at early retirement due to ill health if that's an option and taking out a grievance but that can be very stressful. If you do attend any meetings I would ask that they be recorded.

OP

Don’t forget that every extra day you are officially working and not early retired your pension will be higher.

frankly we consider his behaviour to be bullying. I am going to take a formal grievance

Do ensure when you word your grievance that you refer to the Equality 2010, your protections under that legislation as a disabled person and that your manager's behaviour is harrassment under the legislation. Bullying isn't illegal, harrassment is.

Before you start raising grievances you need to be clear what it's about - not wanting to lift heavy stuff, why not? You can't make a complaint if you have pointed this out because they'll likely twist it around and say we didn't know.

You should check your attendance policy for the guidance around OH referrals. Wrote to your manager and HR requesting this.

If you know for sure you have a disability bearing in mind it's about meeting the definition of disability - substantial & long lasting impact on your normal day to day activities, then put in a formal request for reasonable adjustments.
There is a template in Equality Advisory website.
List out your RA's, how they will support you - it's all in the template letter. Your employer has a legal duty to consider RA for you and failure to do so, without reasonable explanations, is when you start towards discrimination.

Essentially you need to make your employer accountable.

This is the template from here - www.equalityadvisoryservice.com/ci/fattach/get/190126/1614605117/redirect/1/filename/420WRRA%20Template%20Letter%20Work%20(Request%20To%20Make%20Reasonable%20Adjustments).docx
Reasonable Adjustment Request – Work PLEASE DELETE
Your address

Employers Name
Employer’s address
Date: (Enter Date)

Dear (Insert the name of the person you are writing to)
Subject: (Enter title of your letter/what is it about)
I would like to make a request for all reasonable steps to be taken to alleviate the disadvantage I am facing.
See Template Letter guidance for information on what to include in this section.
(Describe what has happened and the impact this has had on you. Give the facts of the case, being specific and clear. Make particular reference to the substantial disadvantage you are experiencing)
Under the Equality Act 2010, employers are under a duty to make reasonable adjustments for disabled persons.
The duty to make reasonable adjustments has the purpose of addressing a situation in which a disabled person is placed at a substantial disadvantage, in comparison with persons who are not disabled. Any adjustments made must be reasonable to do and can take 3 forms;
● A change to a provision, criterion or practice
● A change to a physical feature, and/or
● By providing an auxiliary aid.
I would like you to consider the following reasonable adjustments: (If possible offer as many different options as you can)
I look forward to receiving your response in writing within 7 days from the receipt of this letter or in line with the company’s grievance procedure.
Yours sincerely/faithfully, (delete as appropriate)
(Your name)
420WRRA

Bear in mind that NHS are gung-ho with regards to tribunals etc.

Finally - don't resign.

Email your manager and inform him that you will are unable to do x because of x impact to you.

As I said earlier, request access to OH and send in the completed RA letter I've linked above.
Employers hate those also refer to the dates you've informed your manager that you're unable to do this task.

Your manager is a bully, stand up to them.

Mediation is not appropriate at the moment. Raising your request through the correct channels for reasonable adjustment is.

My doctor has today signed me off for another fortnight with anxiety and depression due to stress at work. My husband dropped my sick note off at work this morning.
My boss rang me at home on the landline this afternoon, and my husband answered the phone (we rarely receive calls on the landline). I was having a nap at the time (all of this worry has fucked my sleep patterns, and I've been exhausted during the day). Boss was very insistent he wanted to talk to me to arrange to come and see me at home. (No mention of union rep being present). My husband told him that I was ill and resting, and a meeting at home would not be appropriate (hell would freeze over before I'd let that happen), and my boss was not happy.
My husband was staggered by how rude he was, but he's used to dealing with arseholes in a calm, firm manner, and I'm just so glad that it wasn't me who answered the phone. It really does feel like harassment now.