diabetes in work

[stuartsbruce]

being a type 1 diabetic and working for a large company i have been requested from having any food or drink outside of the rest room. whilst working for the company i have on occasions had the start of hypos and have overcome this with sweets or a drink kept in my office or on my person but i am no longer allowed to do this (regarding a chat from regional manager breaking company procedures) is there anything in health and saftey regarding disabilitys due to not being able to self medicate or allowing to sort out these problems etc

 

[trophywench]

There most certainly is something. It's called the Equality Act 2010. (used to be the Disability Discrimination Act.)

Do you have a Union? Job for the Union Rep.

If you want completely independent advice, outside of your union or if you don't have one - try ringing ACAS.

 

[megga]

Not sure on the law with this one, but i would turn the problem around and put it to them
What would you recomend when i have a hypo?
What expertise do you have in this field?
What would you recomend if i have a bad hypo and cant make it to the rest room?
Do you concider that you are acting with in the law with both health ans safty at work act and the disability discrimination act?

 

[marke]

Whilst people are correct in that it IS discriminatory it may be better to try a more diplomatic approach first. Have you tried speaking to the personnel department ? They should be aware of all the relevant legislation and are supposed to be there to help you.
You don't say where you work and so it is possible there is some reason why they have these rules but its seems unlikely. There are very few places where a ban like this would be necessary. Its more likely that some over zealous manager has decided to 'invent' some rules without any solid backing. That said I guess you probably just want the issue resolved without a big fuss, which is why I suggested personnel.
I had a hypo at work last year, due to side effects of other medication and my company wanted to put gluco-gel in the first aid points in case I needed it. They had the complete opposite reaction. I explained just a can of coke would do the job ;-) (like you I always carry stuff with me anyway)

 

[HOBIE]

I wouldnt cause a fuss & just pop to the toilet/rest room. Thats why i am self employed. There isnt a nasty boss. Good luck sorting 🙂

 

[Lauras87]

There most certainly is something. It's called the Equality Act 2010. (used to be the Disability Discrimination Act.).

I'm with trophywench on this.
I work in law so I can check.
When I was at high school, I was told I couldn't carry my insulin pen, blood testing kit or sweets as they had to be kept on reception which was 4 flights of stairs to get to.
It was argued that it was unsafe for me to walk that far while having a hypo.

When my work complain about what I carry, I tell them that I won't bring it & they can call for an ambulance when I collapse mid hypo (soon shuts them up)

 

[Catwoman76]

Hi Stuartbruce, you have rights and there are laws and Acts that protect employees. Good luck and I hope you can get it sorted out quickly and relatively hassle free.

All the best Sheena

 

[Tina63]

Always have a pocket and keep some sweets/dextrose tablets in there?

 

[trophywench]

Depends on the job and whether you can actually stop to test and whether your work clothing even has pockets. Royal Mint at Llantrisant for instance! Coinage, so no pockets.

I mean if you worked in British Nuclear Fuels or in any 'super clean' environment you might be a bit hampered really, or we had a lady who works on a supermarket checkout, when she thought she was going hypo she was sposed to ring the bell and wait for someone to relieve her, at which point she was sposed to conduct herself with decorum to the locker room, somewhere at the back of beyond the sales floor, get her belongings out ........

Furthermore she wasn't sposed to eat on the till ..... so she wasn't sposed to even have a glucose tablet whilst working ....

The Union sorted that out for/with her, and it was all resolved amicably.

When I said ring ACAS, I don't mean to take em to a ruddy tribunal all guns blazing - I mean literally to ask for advice on how best to approach it, because you would be able to discuss the entire thing with them confidentially without giving details of your employers security measures etc on a public forum.

 

[DeusXM]

As trophywrench says, get professional guidance. I'm wondering though if there might be ways for both you and your employer to make reasonable accommodations for each other. So there's an issue with you carrying drinks and sweets on site. There might be many reasons for this this, don't feel you have to explain them. But what about glucose tablets, as Tina suggests?

As you say, you are self-medicating. Sweets and drinks, however, are also just general foodstuffs. It may be a case your manager is being petty, or maybe other workers are raising objections because they don't see why you're allowed to carry jelly babies around with you when they can't. Glucose tablets are much more clearly 'medicinal', not to mention more compact. If the issue here isn't something to do with hygiene, then it might be that you can make the case to your employer that you should be permitted to carry glucose tablets with you and use those as an immediate fix, and then return to the restroom temporarily should you really, really need to. This way you'd have the security of glucose on you in case you have a hypo, you've shown that your diabetes is something that can be easily worked around rather than being a pain for you or your employer, and you've put forward a suggestion that actually boosts your productivity.

 

[astbury1]

I think your work place cant really stop you from having sweets in your pocket. You wouldnt stop someone taking a tablet for another illness. To be honest I would just have them in my pocket anyway.... who is to know!. If they catch you eating a sweet then just tell them it was either that of the call an ambulance!😱

It is not as if you are having a sandwich or a three course dinner!

 

[rhall92380]

The Equality Act 2010 compels employers to make "resonable adjustments" for employees with, amongst other things, diabetes. If there is a Health and Safety Advisor or Occupational Health person at the company I suggest you contact them. It may be that the manager is unaware of the company's duty of care to you when he is imposing company rules. I would also check the company rules you have been issued with.

Richard

 

[DeusXM]

I'd avoid playing the "if I don't my way, I'll die card". An employer won't appreciate being put in a position where they are portrayed like some evil Victorian workhouse manager. Most of these kinds of irritants don't come from malice but misunderstanding which can be solved by rational discussion.

If you suggest you're in serious danger from the policy, then that will raise questions about your fitness to work which won't be fun for either party. Particularly if they start assuming you are likely to have a hypo every time and have legitimate concerns about safety of others. For instance, if I was a warehouse manager and one of my forklift drivers told me they needed to carry plenty of drinks and sweets with them on the basis they were having regular hypos, I think I would have a legitimate concern over whether they should be driving a forklift even if I made reasonable accommodations. We absolutely must all stand up for our rights but as I'm sure the OP is already aware, there is a need to be pragmatic on this - and as has been suggested, carrying a small pack of sweets or glucose tabs in your pocket would be a pragmatic solution that doesn't leave anyone with any major concerns.

The best way to look at this is from a productivity point of view - the existing policy prevents you from working at full effectiveness and with just a minor amendment /reasonable accommodation will help ensure the company benefits from your skills and work ethic without compromise.

 

[Northerner]

If it's a large company you are working for, I'm sure you can't be the first and only person with Type 1 diabetes. As suggested earlier, HR should be able to give you the 'official' policy.