Working With Diabetes

[ladybird579]

Hi Folks
My T1 son is 22 and at university. He recently got a summer job working in a very large hotel cleaning rooms. The room cleaning was relentless and he had far too many to clean in the hours he was there. At the end of the shift if any were not done he was asked to stay to finish them. There was no staff area and he got 30 minutes to eat outside in the grounds. If it was raining they got wet. His blood sugar levels was all over the place...going from very high despite, no food, to plummeting into the red hypo zone on his scanner monitor. The hotel were aware he is a T1 diabetic but seem to think it was his problem. He couldn't even carry food with him round the rooms. He came home each night white and trembling and ate the contents of the fridge and was still hypo a few hour later. He decided to leave as they did not take his diabetes into account and the job was making him ill. He is very disheartened as he liked the co workers and the actual job.

Is this standard? Is this a taste of what is to come when he finishes uni and enters the job market? If so I fear for his future. He gets no benefits and has no choice but to work sooner or later. I am hoping his eventual degree will head off a manual job but who knows. Several of my kids with uni educations have not ended up in the jobs they were trained for.

 

[pm133]

There must be some law that hotel were breaking here.

Most graduate level jobs are probably not going to be like that - if they are indoor office-based jobs.
Manual labour type jobs seem to be disproportionately more difficult in this regard.

 

[Leadinglights]

Welcome to the forum, I'm sure there will be people with a bit of knowledge of the law, it is unfortunate that 'temporary workers' often fall through the net when it come to the law. I'm sure when it comes to a permanent job the employer has to comply with all sorts of laws which should allow people with Diabetes or indeed any other medical condition or disability not to be discriminated against.
It is a pity that somebody who was motivated enough to get a summer job found it affected his wellbeing.

 

[pm133]

Welcome to the forum, I'm sure there will be people with a bit of knowledge of the law, it is unfortunate that 'temporary workers' often fall through the net when it come to the law. I'm sure when it comes to a permanent job the employer has to comply with all sorts of laws which should allow people with Diabetes or indeed any other medical condition or disability not to be discriminated against.
It is a pity that somebody who was motivated enough to get a summer job found it affected his wellbeing.

I believe they have recently closed the gap between how temps and permanent staff are treated.
I think both are now equal in law but it needs someone more knowledgeable than me to confirm this.

 

[trophywench]

I'm certain that you would leave - and tender your resignation in writing saying that both the poor working conditions and their lack of regard to their responsibilities under UK Law surrounding employing the disabled amounts to constructive dismissal.

With full time working with a proper contract of employment for starters anyway, next step is an industrial tribunal!

 

[Abi]

Was he actually forbidden to have hypo remedies with him while cleaning the rooms
I would hope that this contravenes the law and that you and he have the reserves to take them to task on this even if he has now left..

 

[Piglet]

Hello,

Alannah is right the Disability discrimination Act 1995 would have covered your son. This has now been superseded by the Equalities Act 2010.

The hotel should have made reasonable adjustment for him to be able to eat/test his sugar levels if required whilst on shift. Their attitude is purely down to ignorance and a lack of knowledge and education which should be highlighted.( I'm not sure who it could /should be reported to. )

Your son's glucose levels you said rose despite no food. The no food bit possibly caused the high glucose levels as the body might have been producing glucose to keep his energy levels up whilst he was physically active, or he was not eating enough carbs to sustain his activity level. This carb v activity seesaw is a fine balance which many of us have to work out.

Most employers have some basic understanding and are ok with making the reasonable adjustments required. However some individual managers are not so understanding (I was bullied by a previous manger due to my diabetes but the company overall were fine)

Good luck to your son. Please reassure him its not all like that in the big wide world.
Piglet

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

Sorry to hear about your son’s experience @ladybird579

No this is not normal, and he was not treated fairly or appropriately from what you have said.

I don’t know if you want to take any action based on his experiences (even if only to make an official complaint so that the hotel owners/chain are aware of their responsibilities for anyone else who works with them in the future.

You might want to discuss matters with the Diabetes UK helpline, who could offer support and advice. The helpline is open Mon-Fri 9-6 you can call on 0345 123 2399

Hope he has better luck with his next job!

 

[ClaireT]

Hi, I work as a room attendant in a hotel, I am allowed to have my bag with me at all times which has my insulin, hypo remedies and snacks in. If I am low which is often as it is a very physical job, I just sit down and treat the hypo no problems and I do get checked on quite a few times through the day. They also have asked what I need them to do if I have a severe hypo.
Hope your son gets another job with a better employer, I stated at the interview what I needed, if they had found it a problem I wouldn't have taken the job.

 

[ladybird579]

Thank you all for your replies. Further to more problems at this hotel my son has now left and got a job at a much smaller family run hotel with better conditions and shorter hours. Unfortunately since he left the first job his bloods have been very erratic and he is still very high on waking ( 22 and often higher) despite not eating from the night before and increasing his Lantus. I am hoping we can get it sorted out. He's not ill so I've no real clue what is going on.

 

[ClaireT]

Hi @ladybird579, I'm so pleased your son has a better job now the other place sounded awful.
As for his bloods you could phone his DN and get some advice.

 

[ClaireT]

There's always one isn't there. Thought it was friendly on here.

 

[Piglet]

HI Calire,
Most of us are friendly. It is good to keep in mind that we can only interpret the words as written and not the hidden inflections or humour in the smile of the person writing the post.

 

[Kaylz]

@ladybird579 we are generally a nice bunch so don't let one put you off

I'd highly suggest your son ring his DSN and give his results etc and they could maybe make a suggestion of what is happening, many struggle so there's no need to be made to feel ashamed or embarrassed

I hope this hasn't put you off posting for support!
xx

 

[Abi]

Thank goodness he has found a better employment option.
I hope that he can sort out his blood glucose control
Does he have a libre to see what is happening overnight?
If he takes the lantus in the morning and he is very high then it could be that it is running out before it's supposed 24 hour action.
Unless he is eating a very large or high fat evening meal the other likely explanation ( excluding stress from the trauma of his previous employment) would be dawn phenomenon. A different basal strategy might be better with a split dose of less long acting insulin( levemir or isophane), during the day, and more overnight-or a pump. Does he have a good diabetes team? Really he needs to speak to them