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We want to hear from you: please tell us about your experience of the online community.

Fill in a survey to tell the BBC about your experience of covid-19

Cher_Alumni

The BBC is carrying out a survey to understand how covid-19 has affected disabled people in the UK and need your help.

Covid-19 has impacted the lives of disabled people disproportionately and the BBC need your help to better understand the realities faced during this challenging time.

The survey is completely anonymous but if you also want to share your stories and experiences please email ruth.clegg@bbc.co.uk. She is the BBC's disability news producer and she will get back in touch. Please put Covidsurvey as the subject.

To take part and make your voice heard, visit:

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@Cher_Scope
Done

Thanks both

Done

Done

done, I'm surprised there wasn't any questions asking how your employer has acted during the pandemic etc..

Has your employer claimed your full entitlement to furlough for you? no
Has your employer used furlough scheme to change commission structure and contracts? yes
did your employer try to force you in to using your holidays and pay for them using furlough money? yes
has your employer decide not to claim furlough for you because you refused to use holidays? yes
has workplace discrimination become much worse during the pandemic? for me yes
has your employer made your disability worse during the pandemic? 1000000x yes

Cher_Alumni

Thank you everyone for completing the survey.

@Whatsthis I'm so sorry you've come up against these problems. Looking at your older posts, I can see this has been happening since the very beginning of the pandemic, did you have any luck with lodging an official grievance?

Whatsthis

Hi @Cher_Scope - thanks for asking but no I stupidly didn't raise the grievance - every time I tried to type it out I'd get overrun with adrenaline and just couldn't do it (I have a dodgy ticker). I was put on furlough which allowed me to forget about it all though.

my job was min wage + commission at the time, my furlough was 80% of min wage.

I was made redundant during this furlough (unfairly) and given the same job back with a different title and commission structure.

When the first furlough ended in November I was given a van again, I asked for OH and they said it wasn't an option due to covid etc.. and it was in the terms of the new job that I would have to be able to drive a van. I had no option but to drive the van for work.

I had a RTA in the van and suffered whiplash, I wasn't paid for the 3 weeks I had off sick and the van started to play up in Jan, I reported it and they said they would arrange for it to be serviced, the day after this I was put on furlough again. from Jan to April.

I received a letter asking me to agree to use my holiday entitlement whilst on furlough but the deadline to agree passed before delivery of the letter. I was paid around 40% of my wage last month via furlough. - I have asked for a breakdown of this payment and I've been ignored.

I was given 10 days notice that furlough was ending in April, I was in the new rota as first day back on Sunday, - I don't work Sundays and never have but they insisted.

The van wouldn't start on that Sunday morning and I reported it ASAP, everywhere was closed due to being Sunday and had to wait till Monday for call back from vehicle management company, they arranged to come out and fix the van on the Tuesday which they did but were unable to fix it due to needing parts.

I was then told by work that this time will go down as unpaid leave and I have to make my own way to showroom the following day or disciplinary procedures would start etc etc..

I told them it wasn't possible for me to make my own way there and my family in hardship due to very low income for over a year and unpaid furlough etc.. I had a bit of a breakdown at this point

After a few days they changed their tune and I received a letter saying that they've offered to pay for taxis to and from and I had to claim the money back at the end of the month (£30 per day each way minimum), - if I fail to do this it will result in disciplinary blah blah..

I have no idea what to do, I can't afford to pay last months gas and electric and they think I can throw £1200 on transport to work.

A colleague of mine had an RTA that was his fault around 12 months ago and they hired him a car for over a month.

they're also aware that I'm clinically vulnerable to covid and refuse to allow me to work from home and insist on public transport / taxis.

If I resign I get no benefits?

Cher_Alumni

@Whatsthis Apologies for the delay in getting back to you and I'm so sorry you've found yourself in this situation

It sounds really challenging and I wondered how you were coping emotionally? I know you mentioned having had a 'bit of a breakdown' - was this something you got support for at the time?

I can see that you received help on another post in relation to what next steps would be beneficial around your work situation, for instance contacting Advice Local and ACAS. Please let us know how you get on with pursuing these, if you decide to follow them up.

How are you coping financially at the moment? Scope have a new free service called 'Disability Energy Support' which could help you with managing any energy debt. Once registered you can book for a 45 minute appointment with a trained advisor who will guide you through resolving any issues faced. Visit this 'Energy helpline application form' to get the ball rolling.

Also, have you used a benefits calculator to double check you are getting all the benefits you are entitled to? If not, I'd recommend giving it a go to ensure you aren't missing out.

I hope things begin to get better for you really soon. Take care and speak soon.