Reasonable adjustment employer being awkward

Hugo51

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 😢

Alex_Alumni

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?

Hugo51

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?

Thanks for taking the time to reply Alex
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 

janer1967

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 

JaneC_

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 

Hugo51

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 

Tori_Scope

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. 

Karen7788

Hi @Hugo51,
I got reasonable adjustments at work and I found this website very helpful:
https://championhealth.co.uk/insights/reasonable-adjustments-mental-health/

Hugo51

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. 

I suppose it would do in morning but same problem would exist at finishing time when everyone gathers in canteen unfortunately 🥺

Alex_Alumni

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

That does sound tricky @Hugo51. How long do people tend to gather in the canteen for?

Hugo51

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. 

Yea that’s the ideal adjustment I’ve asked for 

Hugo51

Tori_Scope said:

That does sound tricky @Hugo51. How long do people tend to gather in the canteen for?

Half an hour or so roughly 

poppy123456

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 😢

I am reliably informed that under the Equality Act 2010, refusing reasonable adjustments is actually ILLEGAL, although I've been saying for most of the last 12 years that the EA is largely token because the government don't and probably never will enforce it IMO.

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.

See link. https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/law-and-courts/discrimination/what-are-the-different-types-of-discrimination/duty-to-make-reasonable-adjustments-for-disabled-people/

Hugo51

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 ? ☹️

Alex_Alumni

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.  

Hugo51

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 

Hugo51

Even though whom I work with happy to help me by starting early ☹️

Hugo51

I haven’t, my anxiety makes it hard to talk to someone I don’t know even on telephone ☹️

L_Volunteer

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 know 

Hugo51

So I have another meeting tomorrow with employer, I’ve got union representative to help me