reasonable adjustment — Scope | Disability forum
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reasonable adjustment

Hopping_Mad
Hopping_Mad Community member Posts: 9 Listener
I want to ask for a reasonable adjustment to my working hours. I have mobility problems and am registered disabled. I mentioned to my manager that working morning shifts would be more suitable. Without any consideration she immediately said it will be impossible. A few months ago my shifts were mainly mornings or middle of the day but just lately for no real reason this has changed. Working the afternoon shift means I am on my own on the shop floor for the most part ( managers have to go into the office to reconcile tills) I am left to re-stock shelves, serve customers,tidy the stock and shelves and bring in signage. I am not as quick on my feet as other staff and end up so sore and exhausted. M
On morning shifts there are always two people on the shop floor, the work to be done is at a slower pace and I can cope better. I am worried that if I request a reasonable adjustment they will either say I have to take a cut in my hours or make me work every Sunday or worse say I cn no longer do my job. Can they do this. I think the only reason the manager now has a different member of staff working the mornings is because that person also has a key so the manager doesn't have to rush to be in on time to open the shop. Any advise will be appreciated

Comments

  • Debbie_Alumni
    Debbie_Alumni Community member Posts: 932 Pioneering
    Hi @Hopping_Mad,

    If you haven't already done so, have a look at the pages on our website about work including reasonable adjustments. http://www.scope.org.uk/support/disabled-people/work/reasonable

    If after reading through you want to talk some more about this then please do get in touch with us at the helpline.

    Best wishes
    Debbie
  • Judomandean
    Judomandean Community member Posts: 49 Courageous
    you are ALSO entitled to access to work equipment such as ergonomic chairs computers etc.
  • Hopping_Mad
    Hopping_Mad Community member Posts: 9 Listener
    HR are arranging a meeting between them, myself and our area manager. I think they may have already spoken to my immediate manager and I expect she will be involved in the meeting also. I gave a copy of the letter I sent to HR to my manager, her response was that she has other staff to think about and that the reason she now needs another keyholder to work the morning shift is so that they can take the daily takings to the bank early and as there are only two staff on the morning shift they both have to be keyhoders ( I assume so that the one left at the shop can do refunds etc, the peson going to the bank does not have to be a keyholder) Up until the said staff member was trained a few weeks back they used to take the takings to the bank mid morning when the third member of staff arrived for their shift. Now whether this is a good enough reason for them not to uphold my adjustment request, I don't know
  • Debbie_Alumni
    Debbie_Alumni Community member Posts: 932 Pioneering
    Hi @Hopping_Mad,

    When is the meeting taking place? It might be worth running this past ACAS and getting some guidance on this. 

    Let us know how you get on.

    Best wishes
    Debbie
  • Hopping_Mad
    Hopping_Mad Community member Posts: 9 Listener
    edited September 2016
    Hi @ DebbieVoakes
    No date for the meeting as yet, Our area manager is on hols till Monday so meeting can't be arranged until she is informed because she has to be at the meeting as well as HR and myself. I will get intouch with ACAS and also C A B and see what advice they can offer. 
    I will certainly update as things progress
    Lesley
  • Debbie_Alumni
    Debbie_Alumni Community member Posts: 932 Pioneering
    Many thanks @Hopping_Mad, if you can get advice before your meeting you'll be well prepared. Good luck! :)
  • Hopping_Mad
    Hopping_Mad Community member Posts: 9 Listener
    Update on Reasonable Adjustments
    I have been informed by my manager that HR and Area Manager are coming tomorrow to meet me and discuss my request. I have spoken to ACAS who were very reasuring. I have a Fit For Work note off my doctor advising that working mornings will help reduce the pressure on my limb that builds as the day goes on. ACAS explaine the special characteristics which includes my disability as it is physical and long term, Will update again after the meeting, fingers crossed things will be sorted :)
      
  • Debbie_Alumni
    Debbie_Alumni Community member Posts: 932 Pioneering
    Hi @Hopping_Mad

    You've done all the right things here and I'm really glad you spoke to ACAS, they're great aren't they? The fit for work note from your GP is also very strong evidence. A big well done to you and I hope the outcome of the meeting is a positive one. I look forward to hearing the next update!

    Best wishes
    Debbie :)
  • Hopping_Mad
    Hopping_Mad Community member Posts: 9 Listener
    Hi, @ DebbieVoakes and other Scope members
    My meeting was positive. HR asked me to say exactly how I was feeling and how the company could help. I explained as best I could about the changes to my rotad shifts and how the fact that I was put down for so many end of day shifts was leaving me both tired and in a lot of pain etc. I also said the workload was a lot for any one person to cope with let alone a person with mobility problems. The area manager sat in on the meeting and listened to what I had to say and assured me that she would have a word with my direct manager and that it would be made clear that the workload will be reduced and the amount of time I am left on my own will be minimal from now on. It was agreed that I can go back to having at least two early morning shifts and possibley a third if I feel I need it, also exra time on my breaks so that I can adjust my limb, change limb socks etc. As it is not an ideal world I agreed there could be times when I will be asked to work slightly different shifts to what has been agreed but when this happens a full day off will be offered so I get a complete rest. This is to be triald over the next month and any problems arising can then be discussed further.
    All in all I am pleased with the outcome so far.
    I am pleased I got advice from Scope and ACAS and followed that advice in the correct way. I appreciate the help very much, Thank you all :) x
     
    A much less stressed Hopping_ Mad 
  • Debbie_Alumni
    Debbie_Alumni Community member Posts: 932 Pioneering
    Good Morning @Hopping_Mad,

    What a lovely post to read this morning! I'm really delighted for you that there has been a positive outcome for you. Everything offered seems reasonable and sensible and will no doubt alleviate the worry and the problems you've been having trying to struggle through.

    I'm really pleased that your employer has taken positive action to support you to continue with your employment. It's good that things will be trialled for a month and that it will be reviewed to see if there are any further problems and to see how you're managing.

    Well done for getting this resolved, this is a brilliant example of how things should be done and I really hope it inspires others who are experiencing similar issues to get advice, support and to not give up!

    I hope the new way of working is better for you and please do keep in touch and let us know how things are going.

    Very best wishes and big cheers for you!

    Debbie :)


  • Hopping_Mad
    Hopping_Mad Community member Posts: 9 Listener
    edited October 2016
    Hi @DebbieVoakes .It seems I may have set my manager right against me by asking for the reasonable adjustment. She has certainly given me my two early shifts but seems determined to make me work every Sunday. The girl who I used to share the Sundays with has been given Sundays off. I think I am being punished for daring to go over my managers head by asking HR for the reasonable adjustment but I cannot prove it. 
  • Debbie_Alumni
    Debbie_Alumni Community member Posts: 932 Pioneering
    Hi @Hopping_Mad,

    Sorry to hear this. You must be really disappointed after all the work that went into having the reasonable adjustments put in place. 

    I would bring this up when you have your review with HR but if it is becoming too much of a problem before then, I can't see any harm in speaking to HR for guidance. You can of course also get back to ACAS and see what they say about this and whether this is ok.
    Are Sundays part of your employment contract and prior to the reasonable adjustments what was the Sunday working arrangement?

    Best wishes
    Debbie


  • Hopping_Mad
    Hopping_Mad Community member Posts: 9 Listener
    Hi@DebbieVoakes
    Yes Sundays are part of everyones contracts, though there has never been any set pattern as to when we work them. Most of the time we only have a wk/end manager and one member of staff to work Sunday. When I first started working at the shop I am at now I never worked any as there was seperate wk/end staff. Obviously as time has gone on things have changed, less staff now, no extra hours to cover holidays or sickness etc, same as a lot of of places I expect. It really is a long story how things have changed over the past yr. I used to be a temp key holder ( paid extra hourly rate as and when I covered managers days off and hlidyas etc ) as a few years ago we only had 1 manager for quite a long time. Eventually they took on a deputy manager and a wk/end manager so really I was not supposed to have to cover so much ( only being paid extra hourly rate if a manager wasn't present) but thats not what happened. I suppose I was a bit naive as I continued to hold the key and still did quite a lot of the management role, opening the shop, refunds, cashing up tills etc but a lot of the time because a manager was there I wasn't paid the extra for doing so. It got to the point that as the manager was late most mornings I was opening the shop and serving customers before she even got there. Eventyually I said that as I was only temporary key holder I wanted to hand it back. This is when I was told for the first time that it was likely I would have to work Sundays. I was fine with that but still only worked very few Sundays I was needed more during the week. Then at the beginning of this yr a member of staff left, we weren't allowed to replace his hours so this meant there were more Sundays that I and two other staff had to cover, again not a major problem to me. There was a point when I had to go for physio because of a problem with my walking. I arranged for these sessions to be on Wed afternoons as I didn't usually work  then. I had a word with the manager to make her aware of this and her immediate reaction was to tell me that as I had done this I would have to work all of the Sundays. I asked for the reason for this and she couldn't give me an answer, later she came back and said that she had "sorted" it. I was told a couple of months ago that as Sundays are busier now myself and another would be doing a split shift on Sundays, I said fine no problem. It didn't really happen a lot, not sure why but I was told on and off that it would be more regular at some point. At my meeting with HR I did ask that if I was to work a split shift on Sundays then could it be the morning shift that I work as I can get a lift to and from work ( Sunday service buses are not good here) and also because of the added pressure on my leg when working afternoons, this was agreed. This hasn't happened, I am now down on the rota again for the 3rd Sunday, the last one was a split shift but the next two are full shifts and up to now another split shift after that. This means I will have worked every Sunday for 5 weeks and the other member of staff has done just two, both a split shift. This has never happened to any member of staff before so I can only think it is the managers way of getting her own back because I had to go over her head to HR, though of course I cannot prove it. Gosh I am sorry for posting such a long essay!!!! 
  • Hopping_Mad
    Hopping_Mad Community member Posts: 9 Listener
    Hi @DebbieVoakes
    I am going to wait for another rota to go up to see if I am working yet another Sunday and will have to decide what to do. I will get back in touch with ACAS meanwhile to get their advice 
  • Debbie_Alumni
    Debbie_Alumni Community member Posts: 932 Pioneering
    Hi @Hopping_Mad

    No need to apologise for writing such a long post, it's really helpful. As I was reading through I couldn't help but find it quite unfair that you had an agreement with HR and so soon after, that agreement is not being kept. You've been very flexible and reasonable about the Sunday working and the working hours in general. You know what your limitations are owing to your health and this is why you've asked for the reasonable adjustments. The reasonable adjustments were granted, so why are they not being implemented as they should be? I know it's difficult when companies aren't able to afford to replace staff who leave but it's not going to help things making the rest of the staff unwell so that eventually people leave or can't work because they're too ill. 

    Do get back in touch with ACAS and see what they say about this. Sorry you're having to go through this. You were so positive after the meeting and it's a shame that so early on things aren't working out the way they're supposed to.

    Have a good day
    Debbie :)
  • Hopping_Mad
    Hopping_Mad Community member Posts: 9 Listener
    edited February 2017
    Hi @DebbieVoakes. it has been a couple of months now since my last post on this. To update: My manager did not like the fact that HR and the Area Manager agreed to my request. The manager took it quite personal. The new shifts were put in place eventually, after I had been intouch with HR again. It took a while for my manager to accept the change, she was quite nasty towards me at times ( not so much what she said but the way she spoke to me) eg, Just before xmas our annual works party  invitation email arrived. My manager asked me would I be going, I said yes if anyone else was going I would definately go. Her response was quite abrupt, teling me that she wasn't going because she was making arrangements to go somewhere with staff from another of our shops. I asked if the staff from our shop were going the the annual party and she said she didn't know, so I just said ok let me know when you have asked them. Nothing more was said until a few days later when she very sharply asked me again. Again I asked if any of our staff were going and she said she didn't know and that we would have to arrange our taxi to get us there. Now when I looked at the email instruction on the computer there was a response form to let the office know how many staff were attending the party. The form was filled in with the managers name and three of the other staffs names but not mine ( I albeit sneakily, took photos of the pc screen) Nothing more was said but in the end nobody went to the party.
    I now work every Sunday, 10.00-1.30. I have only had one Sunday off since xmas. It seems that I also am the only member of staff that will not have a full wk/end off when taking a weeks annual holiday. Other staff are given the Sat end of one week as their day off and the Sunday then starts their holiday and as they are not being asked to work Sundays they have a full week end off at the end of that week. I feel this is unfair because it has not been applied to me, I have to work the Sat before the start of a week holiday and am rota'd on for the Sunday starting the following week after. I hope I have explained that so you can understand

Brightness

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