Diabetes and autism discrimination, adjustments being flat out ignored

Catsymoo

Hello.

I need some help, I will try and keep this as short and sweet as I can. I am on probation, I have worked at a dental contact centre for 3 months. This company has breached its contract in many ways, but I will try to list the stuff that is ONLY relevant to my disabilities.

I am type 1 diabetic, and my control has been very poor in this workplace. I have autism, and my sensory needs and stress impact my diabetes too. I have had 2 diabetes absences due to stress from this place.

• I am repeatedly asked to move desks, and this doesn't just mean sitting somewhere else, this is carrying heavy equipment up many flights of stairs, into a small room of 50 people that is extremely loud, spending forever setting it up and having to adjust to different lighting, temperature and sound which spikes my sugars from stress response
• There is no place to keep my supplies, as they get stolen. The manager also confiscated all mugs and cups, citing that nobody is allowed a drink or water unless they bring their own
• The building is disgusting and I am not sure it even has a cleaner, late shift staff are expected to clean and change bins, unpaid after they finish
• There is 1 toilet for 50+ people, mostly women, it is unsanitary and there have been incidents of human waste on the floor (intentional, not accidents), you have to ask for toilet paper and the toilets on other floors are almost always out of order or occupied, causing me to have an accident one time where I had to run down 3 floors to a patient toilet with no lock, no light and I had an accident and got upset
• I have been told not to eat in the break room when treating low blood sugar, and told to go elsewhere, there is nowhere else to go
• Visitors and upper management are allowed to eat and get treated like royalty
• I am not given a sanitary private room to inject my insulin, and I do not feel OK doing it in public, a toilet is not an acceptable room to do this in private, causing me to skip injections out of anxiety and become unwell
• Other people are given their own desk, allowed to work from home, and storage drawers. I asked for these informally for diabetes and autism needs, and was denied
• I submitted a statutory flexible working request for the above, including a sharps bin and private place to inject. I have not even had a reply or acknowledgement
• Today, I woke up on 1% battery, got to work and was told I need to move all my stuff upstairs AGAIN because my supervisor is off sick. I begged them to let me stay where I am so I have a quiet space to work and be able to manage my diabetes. I was told no with no reason given. I had a meltdown, cried and walked out, citing that I can't do this today and my mental health is at an all time low. Nobody, not even once, checked on me.

Despite probation, I think this might be discrimination…? What can I do?

charl1234

Union or acas

silmarillion

go to access to work

Stellar

Alongside contacting ACAS and your union (if you're in one):

• Go to your GP and get a sick note immediately, so you no lnoger have to turn up to a toxic workplace. Your employer is putting your health at risk.
• update your CV, then start looking for a new job immediately.

Your employer is setting you up for constructive dismissal at the end of your probation because they don't want to work with an autistic person.

Ignore the suggestion to contact Access to Work, they're not what you need here (nor are they fit for purpose period, but that's for another day).

Catsymoo

https://forum.scope.org.uk/discussion/comment/1034482#Comment_1034482

Thank you - I spoke to a solicitor yesterday and he told me to email HR, detailing why I am off and the how the failure to make reasonable adjustments is the reason my health is declining. And to request the adjustments again and see what they do.

I also sent over a fit note - I have not had so much as an acknowledgement of my 2 emails, nor did they reply to my flexible working request weeks ago. Nobody seemed to message to ask where I was today. Kind of shocking and doesn't seem like they have duty of care. It's insane because I work in a healthcare organization, too.

Apparently, if they dismiss me or do not make the adjustments, I have strong case for disability discrimination (indirect, failure to make adjustments). The main thing is the diabetes rather than the autism, I have nowhere to inject and the stress from sensory overload of having to move, and just exist in possibly the worst working environment I have ever encountered in my 35 years just causes me to forget things and skip food/insulin.

My performance is excellent, so they could ONLY dismiss me based on absence legitimately (I have had 3 diabetes related absences, due to their working environment), but if they dismiss on those grounds it's also not good on them, because that is discrimination too apparently.