Reasonable Adjustment Request in the Workplace?

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Sookie

Sookie

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Relationship to Diabetes
Type 1
Hello,

Your thoughts please. I work in a basement of a Georgian townhouse where the communal kitchen is located on the upper 4th floor. The expectation to climb 4 stories to make a cup of tea, let alone stock & use the fridge and other amenities is what i consider unreasonable. However, i have asked for adjustments to be made over the years only to be met with rejection. Would it be unreasonable to continue to ask for a simple, most basic kitchenette? From a legal perspective even? I detest having to use the T1D card but up until now i have been unheard, and the impact, unseen.

Any similar experiences would be most graciously received 🙂
 
I suppose it will come down to whether there is a lower-level room available for (partial?) conversion to a kitchenette, and whether the cost to do this is "reasonable"...
 
Have you make the request in writing?
I was told that a situation had been ignored for years, but a single letter to management sorted the problem.
 
Four floors of stairs for a cup of tea sounds like a nuisance, but is probably beneficial to health fo a reasonably fit person. If, however, you have disabilities that make stair climbing difficult, then a reasonable adjustment would certainly be a requirement, maybe have a kettle and a mini fridge at a lower level. I can’t see that Type 1 diabetes on its own would be a factor, presumably you keep hypo treatments and maybe a follow up muesli bar or equivalent close to you at all times (I certainly do).
 
Hi can you explain why you need a basement kitchenette/cannot use the existing facilities?
 
Providing a flask might be a reasonable adjustment, but I can't specifically see diabetes needing any adjustment as the exercise is good for us. Obviously if you have complications from your diabetes like neuropathy which affects your ability to walk then that would be another matter. But Type 1 on it's own doesn't necessarily justify it in my opinion. In fact you could look at it as them providing exercise to employees in work time, since it will take considerably longer away from your work station to go up and down 4 floors than if you had a kettle and fridge in the basement with you. The main problem in an old house may be providing a sink in basement.
What do other employees think about the situation or are you down in the basement on your own?
 
Four floor climb for a cup of tea seems extreme.
However, I do not understand how you would apply the T1D card.
T1D does not stop you climbing stairs or require more frequent access to a kitchen as long as you can keep your hypo treatment at your desk.
 
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Sookie said:
Hello,

Your thoughts please. I work in a basement of a Georgian townhouse where the communal kitchen is located on the upper 4th floor. The expectation to climb 4 stories to make a cup of tea, let alone stock & use the fridge and other amenities is what i consider unreasonable. However, i have asked for adjustments to be made over the years only to be met with rejection. Would it be unreasonable to continue to ask for a simple, most basic kitchenette? From a legal perspective even? I detest having to use the T1D card but up until now i have been unheard, and the impact, unseen.

Any similar experiences would be most graciously received 🙂
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Does your diabetes cause you complications that mean you have difficulty walking or using stairs, such as amputation or neuropathy? If so then I think requesting that you can keep a cool box with your lunch in, and a flask for hot water, in the basement would be a reasonable adjustment.

If your diabetes doesn’t affect your ability to walk then I don’t think any adjustments are required.
 
As long as you can keep food at your desk for hypos and don’t have any other additional issues affecting your mobility, I think that’s fine (albeit a nuisance). I’ve worked places where we have a canteen and that was often a fair walk away.
 
Hi all, great to hear your perspectives. With exception to getting tired & breathless quite easily since having Covid in 2021, I would say I am reasonably fit & my role can be unpredictably active & demanding for an office job. That said there are times managing BG levels becomes extremely challenging, (as you all know) for instance, climbing said number of stairs during a hectic day has proved to push me over that manageable threshold resulting in crushing hypos. (For me when a hypo sets in i become incapacitated, cognitive ability plummets & often fatigued for the duration of the day rendering me useless). Might be worth mentioning that the kitchen contains a tiny table with two chairs that are always in use for a company of 15-20 staff. A long way to go for nowhere to sit & eat. My colleagues also find it a nuisance and rarely go upstairs opting to go out and buy food & drink to consume at their desks. This is why i feel the need to request basic basement level amenities.

I do everything I can to help myself. I have purchased a small fridge and kettle for my colleagues & I to use, despite their size and placement within the office being tiny awkward & insufficient. No room for small microwave in the current configuration but that could be changed with permission if they allowed. So, yes, there's space & scope to create a small fuss & fancy free area if the budget would allow. Apologies, this long tale is far more nuanced than i can put into words.

I'm happy to make changes as i so often do for the good of the office but I feel the company could make some adjustments for our welfare, however minor. We in the basement feel cut off and ignored. In an age where accessibility & inclusivity is preached (rightly so) this doesn't feel like an inclusive working enviroment, but perhaps it seems i may be wrong on this one. I'll continue to persevere & power through whilst I am still physically able to do so. Good to hear your thoughts. Thanks again.
 
If the stairs are making you low @Sookie maybe you could have a top-up of glucose/carbs before you go up? I also find that setting my Low alarm higher helps ward off any lows (on the Libre I set it to 5.6). When I worked in the office with the canteen i mentioned above, I used to toss a sweet or two in my mouth if my blood sugar was heading down or sitting at the low end of normal. That gave me enough glucose to get to the canteen and sort my food without worrying about going low while doing so.
 
I’d have a glucose tablet or a snack before you go upstairs, if you aren’t allowed to keep glucose tablets with you then you definitely need to sort that as a reasonable adjustment
 
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Sookie said:
My colleagues also find it a nuisance and rarely go upstairs opting to go out and buy food & drink to consume at their desks. This is why i feel the need to request basic basement level amenities.
Click to expand...
This isn’t about reasonable adjustments then. Basically you can’t claim that they are needed because your diabetes because they aren’t. It’s just something that would be nice for everyone not a requirement for your diabetes. So you need to go about your request in a different way.
 
When I started work there was a huge amount of prejudice against diabetics based on a lot of misconceptions. Over the years companies that booted me out of the running when they found out I was diabetic include BAe, Marconi and Vauxhall (twice). My late parents worked at two of these companies and actually had a go at their personnel departments - my father was absolutely livid. I have spent my working life proving a diabetic can do as good a job as anyone else. I have also had a competition licence for some amateur motorsports!

Have you seen your GP about your breathlessness? I was breathless after Covid in September/October 2031 and it did take nearly six months to get back to how I was before (bar the Covid Toe issues).

So as others have said Diabetes without complications or other health issues (like my amputation) is no reason for adjustments. In fact it is unfair to all other diabetics. Prejudice dropped in the 80s/90s but started creeping back around 2008. I was on the committee of a diabetic support group (linked to DUK) and was staggered by the number of Type IIs who felt they should have adjustments/changes made for them or go on long term sick benefit.just because they had diabetes. @Inka's suggestion about adjusting your low alarm setting is a good idea
 
As regards the risk of hypos, do you not have a Libre or other CGM and if not, why not, because it is available to all Type 1s now? A quick glance at your levels should tell you if you need a top up before hitting the stairs. I certainly wouldn't just keep my hypo treatments at my desk but in my pocket in case I needed them on the way up or back but if you have your low alarm set at say 5, that should give you plenty of warning of an impending hypo and treat it before it gets sub 4. That is the beauty of CGM.
 
This sounds frustrating for all of you who work at the basement/ground level @Sookie :(

Are there others in your company who could join you in your requests?
 
Hi. I don't think using the T1 card is reasonable. Why not suggest some local facilities on your floor such as simple tea/coffee making facilities, small fridge etc?
 
Whether something would be deemed 'reasonable' or not would depend on the resources available to the organisation. If they are a small organisation which isn't exactly flush with money, putting in a kitchenette might not be deemed as being reasonable. Particularly as there are relatively low cost options such as putting in a kettle and a fridge.
 
I don’t think that the circumstances you are in require an adjustment for your T1. The exercise and change of scenery by taking a trip to the top could be beneficial for all.
As others have said you need to have hypo treatments with you all the time, wherever you are.
If going up the stairs regularly induces a hypo, having a gluco tab or equivalent a few minutes before you choose to go up for coffee/lunch.
It might also be worth you checking your basal insulin. If you wear a sensor you could use that to identify whether the patterns show dips at specific times during the day.
Could you have a kettle in your room? A flask.

I hope that you find a solution that works for you.
 
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