Update

[Kathy Hobkirk]

Hi Drew

I initially thought I would be back at work in January but not fully with it so I said I would cover reception. I was told that I couldn't do this as the receptionist needs to be fully aware of what is going on in the waiting area (I work with offenders). Some sort of health and safety thing apparently. I can cope with being verbally abused but apparently I am supposed to see them as well!!

Both Unison and AFTB have been great! I know Unison don't have a good reputation but my rep is brilliant.

Even though I burst into tears today they both said I handled the meeting brilliantly!! (WHich I find hard to believe!!)

AFTB have done a new assessment for me but that is with my eyes as they are now. This has not been submitted anywhere cos they were waiting for me to get back to work. Hopefully after the intacs I will be ok with my 20" TFT (even if my vision is better, I don't want to let it go incase I have bad days) and hopefully they will sort out the lighting and the blinds.

Kathy

[GarethB]

Kathy,

Before your employers can decide to amke you redundent, they have to demonstrate that beyond reasonable doubt that they have made adjustments necessary for your role, including redeployment to another area that is better suited to being adapted for a visually impared person.

I am about to make what seems a ludicrous sugestion, so please bare with me.

While you have poor sight you have probably adapted well to daily things like getting washed & dressed, making a drink and a meal and so on. At your next meeting, try at your home where YOU are in control, you know where evrything is. Give them a pair of glasses such as safety glasses from your local DIY shop and scuff the lenses so anyone with normal sight seas a blurred and hazy image through them. Conduct the whole meeting with them seeing to some extent how you do and take notes, I bet yours will be more legible than theres. Demonstarte how well you can cope given a chance.

Work is much the same when you have KC or not, we tailor our immediate work space to suite out our needs. Just KC people are a bit more structured so as Drew says, we can do things with our eyes shut.

I know a teacher that uses a CCTV set up to look at her students books so that she can mark them. Much of the work I have to check is photocopied onto A3.

Get reassesed with the help of the Union, AFTB and RNIB and you will soon have a case showing what your needs are. You can even with their help get details from access to work how much it would cost to install whcih will be far less than paying you to be of sick and unproductive to them. Small investment and allowing you to become productive again will be far cheaper, even in the short term.

If your employer took this on board you may be back at work before the intacts. I may be wrong, but intacts, grafts or any eye surgery for KC can take time before any improvement is felt.

It sounds like you want to be back at work and you already have people on your side. Chanel that frustration and anger into the assesment and proving with the right equipment you can do the job. I know it wil be hard, but we are all here to give our support to you.

Just for good measure, when you speak to the annoying HR lady and occupational health, tell them you are sending some information they might find helpful and pass them a copy of the employer leaflet from this site.

Wishing all the best.

Gareth

[Drew Radcliffe]

I can't believe that they are putting you through this when they haven't adapted the work environment?

My old employer eventually took the view that as the Disability discrimination act applied to me that they would be discriminating if they ran me down the sickness disciplinary route even though I had met the cirteria for disciplinary action.

Or to put it another way they decided that they had to uphold the law before they upheld their sickness policy as they believed the two conflicted with each other in my case.

Glad your getting all the help you need.

Drew & Yates

[Susan Mason]

Hi Kathy

Do you want to pm me we could do with having a chat, if you feel up to it that is.

best wishes

Susan

[Andrew MacLean]

Kathy

Gareth, as usual, posts a great deal of good sense.

Like the others I am shocked to learn that you are being treated so shabbily by your employer. Do not forget that you have the law on your side, and if your employer does not conform to the rqquirements of the DDA you have ultimate redress to the courts or an employment tribunal.

All the best

Andrew

[Tammy Downsworth]

Working in the Public Sector.....

I have had to fight almost tooth and nail to get the 'reasonable adjustments' through Access to Work, the RNIB (who were great), it took 15 months and eleven days from noticing that my ancient screen was wonky (course I hadn't as I can't see it that well) to getting all the equipment.

I have now been referred back to OH as I have had over the limit sickness absence.

Working in the Pub Sect has never been the walk in the park that other people think, if you work in the private sector and you need equipment to do a job you get it, we have to 'procure' it.

There is always management that say the right thing and do another. There are always many more people in the decision loop that there would be in a Private company.

Kathy, I have lots to share with you, I'll PM as work may get a bit narky that I'm posting to a public board. My right I suppose but for once I'll be careful.

Tam

[Andrew MacLean]

Hey Kathy

Good to hear from you again.

Keep fighting, sometimes you will win!

Andrew

[GarethB]

I think private sector and big corperates are very sililar.

I think myself luck as when I worked for the DTI and later British Coal, Water Board and then British Gas prior to privatisation all gave me great service. Only time I had trouble was like most people when companies were privatised and that was redundancy.

Private companies I have worked for have just as helpful as the Civel Servise ones.

Sivel service and private sector vary just as much between them, as many good as there are bad.

[Kathy Hobkirk]

Hi all

Not doing too bad at the minutes (compaired to the last couple of weeks).

I have a date for my intacs operation so I'm just at the wait and see stage at the mo. Its a week tomorrow.

I'll let you all know how I go on.

Kathy

[Andrew MacLean]

Thanks Kathy

If Intacs had been available years ago, I think this would be an option for which I'd have gone.

all the best. Waiting can be the worst bit.

Andrew