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Reasonable adjustment employer being awkward
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Hugo51
Community member Posts: 53 Connected
I requested reasonable adjustment of starting 15 minutes earlier to avoid crowds of people at work which impacts on my anxiety
employer or the manager involved said no but gave no feasible reason why
HR accused me of not understanding how Reasonable adjustments work , upshot is an OH referral
will they be legally obliged to follow OH recommendations?
this has all impacted on my mental health and I’ve been signed off work by my own doctor 😢
employer or the manager involved said no but gave no feasible reason why
HR accused me of not understanding how Reasonable adjustments work , upshot is an OH referral
will they be legally obliged to follow OH recommendations?
this has all impacted on my mental health and I’ve been signed off work by my own doctor 😢
Comments
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I'm sorry to hear about the impact this has all had on your mental health @Hugo51
How do you feel about the Occupational Health referral?
I'm not sure whether they will be legally obliged to follow recommendations, but I would definitely advise getting in touch with ACAS for guidance. They have information on using Occupational Health at work.
Do you feel like you're getting enough support for your mental health and anxiety day to day?Online Community Coordinator
Scope
Concerned about another member's safety or wellbeing? Flag your concerns with us.
Want to give us feedback? Complete our feedback form now. -
Alex_Scope said:I'm sorry to hear about the impact this has all had on your mental health @Hugo51
How do you feel about the Occupational Health referral?
I'm not sure whether they will be legally obliged to follow recommendations, but I would definitely advise getting in touch with ACAS for guidance. They have information on using Occupational Health at work.
Do you feel like you're getting enough support for your mental health and anxiety day to day?
im a bit worried they don’t legally have to follow OH advice as they have done everything in the past not to be supportive with my Mental health
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Hi and welcome
They do not legally have to follow recommendations from oh as it is just that a recommendations
However they should consider the reasonable adjustments recommendations and have good reason to refuse
If they refuse you can appeal the decision
Just be aware all they have to do legally is consider a request for reasonable adjustments and give reason for refusal if its not consider reasonable to them that can refuse
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Hi @Hugo51,
Welcome to the forum and sorry to hear about the difficult time you’re having and the impact on you.
When you see the OH please do tell them what things, like starting earlier, you think will help you be at work. You should get to see the OH report and the recommendations made.In addition to @Ale@Alex_Scope advice re getting in touch with ACAS for guidance. If you are a member of a union get help from them You could also contact the Citizens Advice Bureau as they often support people with employment difficulties.It might be worth waiting for your OH report and the employers response to see what help they will provide. I should ask for their decision in writing, with reasons, if they don’t do all the recommendation. If you have a meeting with your managers ask if you can take a friendly supportive colleague with you - you can say you want this as a reasonable adjustment if they say no (put your request in writing if they decline).
Scope website pages includes advice on seeking reasonable adjustments https://www.scope.org.uk/advice-and-support/asking-for-reasonable-adjustments/
hope this helps,
do ask any further questions you may have
kind wishes and hope it goes ok
Jane -
Thanks for all your replies, had the OH appointment over phone, her view was she can’t recommend anything and it’s all up to management
All she is doing is suggesting a meeting with manager about flexible working which going on my employers previous stance is meaningless
I feel so bad now
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I'm sorry to hear that @hugo51. Hopefully the meeting your your manager will go better this time. Could it help to write some notes beforehand to help you get your points across?
Do you mind me asking whether arriving 15 minutes earlier regardless of when you actually start work could help you avoid the crowds? I'm sure it depends on the nature of your job, and what causes the crowds of people. -
Hi @Hugo51,
I got reasonable adjustments at work and I found this website very helpful:
https://championhealth.co.uk/insights/reasonable-adjustments-mental-health/
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Tori_Scope said:I'm sorry to hear that @hugo51. Hopefully the meeting your your manager will go better this time. Could it help to write some notes beforehand to help you get your points across?
Do you mind me asking whether arriving 15 minutes earlier regardless of when you actually start work could help you avoid the crowds? I'm sure it depends on the nature of your job, and what causes the crowds of people. -
It does depend on the nature of your work @Hugo51, but I wonder if you could avoid the crowds by arriving/starting work 15 minutes earlier, but also leaving/finishing work 15 minutes earlier? So you'd be moving your day back by 15 minutes.
When I was in school I was allowed the reasonable adjustment of leaving classes 5-10 minutes earlier to get around more easily on my feet or in my wheelchair, without crowds.Online Community Coordinator
Scope
Concerned about another member's safety or wellbeing? Flag your concerns with us.
Want to give us feedback? Complete our feedback form now. -
That does sound tricky @Hugo51. How long do people tend to gather in the canteen for?
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Alex_Scope said:It does depend on the nature of your work @Hugo51, but I wonder if you could avoid the crowds by arriving/starting work 15 minutes earlier, but also leaving/finishing work 15 minutes earlier? So you'd be moving your day back by 15 minutes.
When I was in school I was allowed the reasonable adjustment of leaving classes 5-10 minutes earlier to get around more easily on my feet or in my wheelchair, without crowds. -
Tori_Scope said:That does sound tricky @Hugo51. How long do people tend to gather in the canteen for?
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ExpertByExperience said:Hugo51 said:I requested reasonable adjustment of starting 15 minutes earlier to avoid crowds of people at work which impacts on my anxiety
employer or the manager involved said no but gave no feasible reason why
HR accused me of not understanding how Reasonable adjustments work , upshot is an OH referral
will they be legally obliged to follow OH recommendations?
this has all impacted on my mental health and I’ve been signed off work by my own doctor 😢It's not illegal and i'm not sure why you would think that. Adjustments only have to be made if it’s reasonable to do so.
I would appreciate it if members wouldn't tag me please. I have all notifcations turned off and wouldn't want a member thinking i'm being rude by not replying.If i see a question that i know the answer to i will try my best to help. -
So an update, employers using my colleague as a reason not to start early to avoid crowds, even though that haven’t asked him and he’s happy to do it ☹️The fact that haven’t asked him is surely not fair ? ☹️
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Hello again @Hugo51 and thanks for your update.
When you say your employers are "using your colleague as a reason not to start early" can you tell me a bit more about what you mean?
It'll be helpful to understand exactly what's been said, and we'll do what we can to support you.Online Community Coordinator
Scope
Concerned about another member's safety or wellbeing? Flag your concerns with us.
Want to give us feedback? Complete our feedback form now. -
Saying it impacts on whoever I work with as I have asked to start earlier to avoid the crowds
using it as a reason to refuse my request -
Even though whom I work with happy to help me by starting early ☹️
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Did you speak to ACAS @Hugo51? It doesn't feel right to use the other staff member as an excuse like that, especially if they're happy for you to start early!
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I haven’t, my anxiety makes it hard to talk to someone I don’t know even on telephone ☹️
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I hear you @Hugo51. Would anything, in particular, make this feel more manageable for you? For example, I'm not sure but is there an email address or a text number? Not everyone feels comfortable talking on the telephone and that's ok. If we can do anything to support you further, please don't hesitate to let us knowCommunity Volunteer Adviser with professional knowledge of education, special educational needs and disabilities and EHCP's. Pronouns: She/her.
Please note: if I use the online community outside of its hours of administration, I am doing so in a personal capacity only.
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