how many of us have lost a job because of our illness

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williammcd

williammcd

Well-Known Member
Relationship to Diabetes
Type 2
thought i would ask how many have lost a job because of our employers ignorance to what diabetes is ,

i personally lost a job after about 10 years with a brass foundry just outside of Glasgow [I'm a sand moulder to trade or was ],
for over 2 years my doctor kept harping on about me telling my employer that i was diabetic and should not be in direct control of molten metals which was a major part of my job ,i put it off for as i say 2 years then an illness that had me off work for 5 months brought it all to a head when my employer asked when i was starting back ,i told him i would phone my doctor for a start date ,after talking with my doc he told me he would only sign me off as long as i told my employer that i was diabetic and would have to stop being in charge of molten metals ,when i got back to my employer and told him what the doc said his exact words were ,there are no lighter jobs within the company ,you`ve been a good servant to the company and we will find it hard to replace you ,total nut job ,to me this shows the ignorance employers have when it comes to diabetes,

on another occasion about 1 year after losing my job as a sand moulder i got an interview with tesco to work as a shelf stacker on the nightshift ,
well the inter view went well got on great with the personnel officers ,they were all for me joining even measured me for a uniform then took bank details ,then a young girl came in with a sheet of paper and asked me if i filed in a health form ,when i said no there was`nt one in the job application pack she said ohh you must fill one in now ,after i was finished filling it in she took it away then came back talked to one of the personnel officers who approached me and said ,I'm sorry mr mcdonnell but you`ve put in the health form that your diabetic but we can no longer offer you a position within tesco ,
when i asked her why, she said it was because i would not be able to work on my own or climb ladders, what utter rubbish again ignorance of diabetes lol

i also applied a year ago for a job as a postman to cut a long story short because i ticked the chronic illness box it went before a panel of experts lol probably the tea ladies lol i got an email saying thnx but no thnx lol
 
goodness william these people think we are cripples or something we are diabetic that does not make us incapable of doing a job , there just so ignorant they need teaching a diabetic can stay happy and comfy in there job for as long as someone who aint diabetic, its total discrimination.Personally i got diabetes 8 month into my job and i have been treat brilliantly
 
Geez william, what a dreadful experience.

I havent had a problem getting a job with it as the job I just changed too was the first since my diagnosis.

Came across a few strange experiences though in my last job. You would have thought I had three heads or something....

I wanted to join the police force. Thats a no, no.....
 
sharpwaa said:
Outraged!!!!!!!!!!!!!😱😱 Human right's and disability acts are flowing out my brain just now!!!!!!!!

Got to google and research before I can really get on my high horse over this one!!!!😱

1. Welcome to the forum William, you're in the right place!! Instant attention required by all your new compadres!!

2. Are you now on benefit's? Instant access to legal aid!? Keep every scrap of ligitimate paper from these 'prospective' employers as evidence. Take them to the cleaners and then some!!! Will do my homework whilst you compile this.
Click to expand...

Im on the google case aswell ! I cannot beleive it of tescos...I reckon this could be a multi million pound discrimination case !!! Ill see what i can find out
 
okay some initial links...and quotes from the site


http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Employment/Employees/Startinganewjob/DG_10026518

Health checks
You may have to have a health check if it's a legal requirement of the job (eg, having an eye test for a job as a driver). You should be told about any health checks in your offer letter.

Your employer may ask for a medical report, but if they want one, they must have policies for keeping it secure.

If you are disabled, your disability should not be used as a reason for singling you out for a health test without good reason. If you are, and you don't get the job as a result, you can complain to an Employment Tribunal. It's unlawful to treat disabled people less favourably because of their disability. This doesn't mean that it will always be unlawful for an employer to ask a disabled person to have a health check, even if other candidates are not asked. It will depend on the nature of your disability and the needs of the job.

declaring a disability ..( I dont think Diabetes is a disablity but probably comes in that category along with cronic illness)

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/DisabledPeople/Employmentsupport/LookingForWork/DG_4000219

Employment is covered by the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA). This means it is unlawful for employers to discriminate against disabled people in their recruitment and selection procedures.

Under the DDA, employers must also consider making any ' reasonable adjustments' you might need in order to enable you to work for them.

However when did this all happen...? Quote

Employment tribunals
Whether or not you declare a disability, if you feel you've been treated unfairly in the application process because of your disability, you can make a complaint to an employment tribunal. A complaint must be lodged within three months. The employment tribunal can:

decide whether your treatment was against the law
recommend whether the employer should take certain action, for example, offer to employ you or change its policy
order the employer to pay you compensation

Right off to check if Tescos have an equal opps policy...Harrr😡HA
 
Copied from tesco.com:

Our success depends on people and we're all different and diverse.

We believe we can't afford to be complacent around diversity issues and are continually working on initiatives to attract people from all backgrounds.

We aim to employ people who reflect the diverse nature of society and we value people and their contribution, irrespective of age, sex, disability, sexual orientation, race, colour, religion or ethnic origin.

We also try and make sure everyone can work in a way that suits their circumstances - we support flexible working, offering part-time roles and encouraging job-sharing opportunities and shift swapping where possible.

We introduced a policy on working beyond retirement and have almost 2,500 staff over the traditional retirement age. It is attitude and ability - not age - that makes for great service for our customers.

Our Diversity Advisory Group meets every six weeks to monitor that our workforce mirrors the composition of the population as a whole.

Four out of five applicants for jobs are our customers, which helps us in our aim for our staff to be representative of the local communities we serve.

This year we were one of 19 companies to be included in a European Commission compendium of good workplace diversity practice.

We provide all our managers with a religious toolkit, which enables them to understand and support people from all backgrounds and faiths through information on diet, prayer and dress, and suggestions on how to support their staff during festivals.

We were the first UK employer to set targets for the recruitment of disabled people and have been given the two-tick symbol by Remploy.
 
my god i hope you take tesco to some kind of court! that's horrific...i'm the worst when i'm told no because of my diabetes, i kick up the biggest fuss (even if it's just my gran saying 'no i don't think you should have that think of your sugar levels'!!!!)
 
That is TOTALLY outrageous!! Especially by Tesco - are they not an equal opportunities employer?? [EDIT: oops, was typing this post when the last couple of posts went on] Particularly scandalous, when you consider some (not all, obviously) of the doofus's/mannerless/not very bright individuals they DO employ!

Sadly, the world is full of people who make misguided assumptions and Im ashamed to admit I myself was one of those people up until a couple of months ago. :(

Luckily (!) I do not have a job to worry about as I'm 'just' a housewife, although I do occasionally look for part time work and I would be worried about disclosing the diabetes.

xx
 
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Diversity and inclusion
We want everyone to feel welcome
at Tesco, regardless of age, gender,
disability, ethnicity or sexual orientation.
We aim to reflect the customers we
serve at all levels of the business.

Quote from tesco corporate responsiblity plan may 09

http://www.tescocorporate.com/plc/corporate_responsibility_09/approach/


Wow scared heart that was quick...ohhh this is hotting up, I hate discrimation especially through ignorence !!😡
 
William needs to agree and let us no when this all happened...PM me if you want, I think between us all we could maybe help you out 🙂
 
Hi, ok ill put the cat amongst the pigeons!

As a small business owner & employer i run a small team, we work with children and have a staff ratio to hold and therefore I would want to know that the person i was employing was fit to do the job, time off for sickness is very rare. I would employ someone with any illness if they had a good work record. Ive never had a day off due to diabetes!

I'm sure that tesco don't have a staff ratio so cant see why they can't employ anyone dispite illness.

Julie x
 
I am absolutely gobsmacked.

Tesco is such a large employer and take in how much? Was it predicted 2 in every ?10 (thats from memore, I could stand corrected). This is an absolute scream.

You should definately appeal this.

Have you considered getting an appointment at citizens advice?

Good luck with this.
 
Hi William,

I think each one of those employers are idiots hiding behind health and safety c**p. I ended up leaving my last job due to idiots in HR and management because of the stress they caused me and due to terrible control because of the job. Which actually turned out to be one of the best decisions i've made because I'm no longer depressed and my control is really good too.

Emma
 
I've done the Health and Safety course and there's nowt in there about diabetics climbing ladders, only about placing and securing the ladders.

William, I'm no expert on employment law, but I reckon you may have a case for constructive dismissal. Assuming they made no effort to find you a suitable alternative, by which I mean a job that actually existed.
 
WOW , what a response guys thnx ,

first off my old employer acted within employment rules [though it was done under handed, i was told to send in a letter stating that my doc said i could no longer do [here is the catch 22] the job i was employed to do ,so thats that one ,

next ,tesco wow this caused me all sorts of trouble ,

it happened about 3 years ago when they opened up a mega store on the south side of glasgow[silverburn],
as i said i went through the interview and it went well [you all know that you can tell when things have gone well] so when i was told i could`nt get a job because of the diabetes i was gobsmacked ,when i went back to the employment agency and told them they said you should take this further,

i told job centre plus people your the employment agency it your responsibility to deal with employers who break the law not mine ,

at the time this all happened i had just lost my father to lung cancer after a long illness and to be honest i could`nt be arsed
 
williammcd said:
WOW , what a response guys thnx ,

first off my old employer acted within employment rules [though it was done under handed, i was told to send in a letter stating that my doc said i could no longer do [here is the catch 22] the job i was employed to do ,so thats that one ,

next ,tesco wow this caused me all sorts of trouble ,

it happened about 3 years ago when they opened up a mega store on the south side of glasgow[silverburn],
as i said i went through the interview and it went well [you all know that you can tell when things have gone well] so when i was told i could`nt get a job because of the diabetes i was gobsmacked ,when i went back to the employment agency and told them they said you should take this further,

i told job centre plus people your the employment agency it your responsibility to deal with employers who break the law not mine ,

at the time this all happened i had just lost my father to lung cancer after a long illness and to be honest i could`nt be arsed
Click to expand...

Bless you william...tough times....Just remember your obviously a good bloke,
any help you need in future you know where to come..XX
ps shame really i think everyone was fired up to tackle tesco... we still could tackle them with a really good letter to the chief executive ...ummm what you reckon...🙂😡🙂
 
if you feel strongly about it go ahead you can even use my case as an example ,as i said at the time i had enough on my plate my wife was going bonkers because i was`nt interested in taking them further ,all i could think at the time was if they are like that just sod working for them ,

have to add im no slacker, before i lost my job through my diabetes i had worked for 30 odd years with different companies,
 
william what did royal mail have to say ???
 
royal mail said because i ticked the chronic illness box it would go before a panel of experts ,all the email said was you have been unsuccessful in your application
 
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