Type 1 diabetes at work

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Type1Ally

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Type 1
Hi all,
I’m just after a bit of advice as I don’t really know where I stand with this. I just started a call centre type role and was told before I started that I have a phone code which wouldn’t be monitored and could be used for pre-bolusing, checking sugars etc. I have my lunch break, then 30 more minutes break time which is split in to 2 10 minute breaks and 10 min buffer time for toilet breaks. I told my work place that eating on these breaks is really important and it doesn’t leave much time for anything else. I’ve now been told that code originally given is not to be used for injecting and checking sugars and I need to use my break times for this. The breaks are timed and if we go over it is flagged up. I told them I don’t have much time to eat plus inject and check sugars and was told that everyone else with a medical need uses their breaks. I feel like this is wrong to restrict me to 30 minutes a day, diabetes doesn't always work like that. Sorry for the long post, any advice would be appreciated.
 
If you’re needing to snack throughout the day to avoid going low, have you done basal checks to make sure your insulin is correct? For testing and injecting it takes what 1 minute maximum? Not sure why you’d not be able to fit that into your existing break, if it’s taking so long to test and inject that you don’t have much of your break left then can you get any support from your diabetes team with going over how to test and inject etc to make sure you’re doing using the right method?
 
Lucyr said:
If you’re needing to snack throughout the day to avoid going low, have you done basal checks to make sure your insulin is correct? For testing and injecting it takes what 1 minute maximum? Not sure why you’d not be able to fit that into your existing break, if it’s taking so long to test and inject that you don’t have much of your break left then can you get any support from your diabetes team with going over how to test and inject etc to make sure you’re doing using the right method?
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My basal rate is correct and I know how to check my sugars/inject correctly. I suppose my question was is it right that it should be flagged up if I go over the 30 minutes.
 
No place of work should stop you checking your blood sugers when ever you need to. You shouldn't need special permission for that. If you need to check where you shouldn't be restricted to a time to do it. I would believe this place is going against th we reasonable adjustment guidence.
 
Thanks I think this was my line of thinking. I literally have been using my code for about 5 minutes a day so I don’t know why they have gone back on it now. I will use my break time as they suggest but if I go over then it will obviously become a HR conversation.
 
Type1Ally said:
Thanks I think this was my line of thinking. I literally have been using my code for about 5 minutes a day so I don’t know why they have gone back on it now. I will use my break time as they suggest but if I go over then it will obviously become a HR conversation.
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You feel low at any point you can't wait for your break time to test and treet you need to do it then.
 
Helli is right, type 1 diabetes is covered by the discrimination act 2010.

I also work in a call centre and I get a 1 hour lunch break and 3 x 10 minute micro breaks (everyone else gets 2x15 minutes). In exchange for those additional short breaks that were introduced a year ago, you now get penalised and moaned at if you use the ''personal'' state. Basically means you cannot use the toilet unless it's on your paid breaks. Everyone else uses their breaks to make cups of tea and go to the toilet, I use mine to test and inject as my type 1 is really volatile and hard to control. Meaning I don't get time to use the toilet and my ''personal time'' can be higher than others.

When working from home, I often use other states (like wrapup after a call) to go for a poo or test my sugars just so they don't moan lol. My 10 minute breaks would be fine IF I could take them when I want, but they're scheduled.. diabetes is not scheduled.

My employer has discriminated against me a lot and I believe I am being managed out due to my diabetes, so please make sure you stand up for yourself and don't be afraid to show them the disability act etc to let them know that it is not an unreasonable adjustment.
 
rayray119 said:
You feel low at any point you can't wait for your break time to test and treet you need to do it then.
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They told me that I can use the code for hypos but not for testing/injecting so I feel if I put myself in that code everyday they will question it. I have probably 1 hypo a week as most of the time treat it before it gets there
 
@Type1Ally I worked in a similar centre. They have to make reasonable adjustments. I was told which phone code to use (it was one that other workers wouldn’t use so that my use of that code wouldn’t be counted in our stats). I was also given extra time each day to allow for testing, bolusing and other Type 1 stuff. I can’t remember how much extra time I got but I think it was 10-15 mins per day. This meant I wasn’t being penalised and getting bad stats simply because I have a medical condition covered by the DDA. The extra minutes were spread over the whole week, therefore I could deal with any ‘emergencies’ or set changes or anything like that.
 
Explaining what things you need to do and how important they are helps them understand. I got my extra minutes after a pump incident and the inappropriate comments of one manager. I was quite blunt in what I said to them and made it clear that if they discriminated against me I’d be taking action.
 
To be clear, my code was one code for everything related to my diabetes - that is, it was an extra code to provide me with the extra time I needed. It shows misunderstanding if they’ve just given you a hypo code. The reasonable adjustments are to allow for ‘additions’ you must do. That is, someone without Type 1 doesn’t need to bolus, to test, to treat hypos, to recover from hypos, to bolus in advance, to correct a high sugar, etc etc etc.

You are doing an unchosen extra job alongside your work, and you should be allowed time to do it. I can think of analogies for what they’re doing. The point is not to clear some obstacles that you’ve already bumped into, it’s to clear all obstacles so that you don’t bump into them in future.

Sit with them, tell them the reality of Type 1 and just how much work you have to do to ‘be your own pancreas’. Never underestimate how little they know, so start from the basics and assume nothing.
 
Type1Ally said:
Hi all,
I’m just after a bit of advice as I don’t really know where I stand with this. I just started a call centre type role and was told before I started that I have a phone code which wouldn’t be monitored and could be used for pre-bolusing, checking sugars etc. I have my lunch break, then 30 more minutes break time which is split in to 2 10 minute breaks and 10 min buffer time for toilet breaks. I told my work place that eating on these breaks is really important and it doesn’t leave much time for anything else. I’ve now been told that code originally given is not to be used for injecting and checking sugars and I need to use my break times for this. The breaks are timed and if we go over it is flagged up. I told them I don’t have much time to eat plus inject and check sugars and was told that everyone else with a medical need uses their breaks. I feel like this is wrong to restrict me to 30 minutes a day, diabetes doesn't always work like that. Sorry for the long post, any advice would be appreciated.
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I'm assuming you are on a basal bolus system for injecting?
If this is the case then you do not need to snack between meals. If you are having to due to low blood sugars then you need to do a basal test to find out what is going on, 🙂
In my working life, meals were never regular and sometimes not at all. Working with animals means they have no idea about meal breaks.

Why can you not test whilst working without stopping for a break? If this is an issue ask and then insist you are given a CGM/Libre so you have at at least a vague idea what is going on with you blood sugar levels.
 
Pumper_Sue said:
I'm assuming you are on a basal bolus system for injecting?
If this is the case then you do not need to snack between meals. If you are having to due to low blood sugars then you need to do a basal test to find out what is going on, 🙂
In my working life, meals were never regular and sometimes not at all. Working with animals means they have no idea about meal breaks.

Why can you not test whilst working without stopping for a break? If this is an issue ask and then insist you are given a CGM/Libre so you have at at least a vague idea what is going on with you blood sugar levels.
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I think too much attention is being paid to the importance of being able to eat during 10 minute breaks and opinions on @Type1Ally 's diabetes management.
I believe this is irrelevant - for whatever reason, her employer needs to be more reasonable in their adjustments they are making to allow her to manage a chronic condition.

As for testing whilst working - have you ever worked in a call centre or at any job where every minute of your time needs to be accounted for? The problems are not about predictable meal times but are about time to test, pre-bolus and do whatever is necessary on a break. A CGM or LIbre may help with testing but not pre-bolusing and what if the Libre/CGM suggests her levels are high or low so she needs to check with a finer prick?

Sorry, I do not mean to direct my frustration at you @Pumper_Sue. I am just appalled at how an employee can treat their staff.
 
helli said:
Sorry, I do not mean to direct my frustration at you @Pumper_Sue. I am just appalled at how an employee can treat their staff.
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I was brought up old school 🙂 So my attitude is and always will be if you can't do the job due to health problems then find another occupation.

I do not understand why people take on jobs before checking it out properly to see if it suits them or not. 🙂

Nany state springs to mind in a lot of cases.
 
Pumper_Sue said:
I was brought up old school 🙂 So my attitude is and always will be if you can't do the job due to health problems then find another occupation.

I do not understand why people take on jobs before checking it out properly to see if it suits them or not. 🙂

Nany state springs to mind in a lot of cases.
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Not quite the same but I always found it was me working late or the weekends because those with children couldn't or covering for people who were off because their children were sick or the job just wouldn't have got done. It always seemed to fall to the few who no longer had those considerations.
 
There are hardly any jobs where I live and, being on universal credit, I don’t have leeway to pick and choose even if there were more jobs. Working in a call centre is a stressful job and until you’ve done it, you’ve no idea the havoc it can play with your blood sugars, sending you both low and high sometimes quite unpredictably. I’m not alone in having limits on what job I can choose.

Yes, I had to snack when working, even though I have a pump. It was almost impossible to predict what would happen. You have codes for everything, even having a pee, and god forbid you need to spend longer than a few minutes doing that (periods, anyone?).

I’m all for tradition, but things are different nowadays and people having disabilities should be permitted to contribute and be supported in doing so. As an aside, we all benefit from ‘other people’s children’ because they’re the ones who’ll be working to pay your pension and wiping your bum in the nursing home.

Sorry, but the privilege here stinks.
 
Pumper_Sue said:
I was brought up old school 🙂 So my attitude is and always will be if you can't do the job due to health problems then find another occupation.

I do not understand why people take on jobs before checking it out properly to see if it suits them or not.
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Simple answer - people take on the jobs they can get. Many do not have the privilege of choice.
 
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