struggling and confused

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cato4eva
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struggling and confused

Postby cato4eva » Tue 13 Jan 2009 9:04 pm

hi i have said on here a few times about my friend who is having problem with work . i am really confussed as his work are being every unhelpful and to be honest very unkind

my friend has KC badly in both eyes he has been work at a super market for the last 6 years but the last few months his eye have been getting worse and is now wait on his graft op which they have said can be anyday and his work was told from day 1 that he has KC until now nothing was put in place. when his eye started to get worse a few months ago was said to be going for his op . they changed a few thing like allowing him not to do 6am til 3pm shift allowing him to wear his sunglasses on the shop floor and turn the bright lights of on dip fridges while he works them. but this all has gone out the window they keep making him and puting him down for 6-3 shift and some times can be working 9pm the night b4 which does not help his eyes at all. also there has me "off the record" remarks made(mainly about his attenedance) by managers and such . over xmas he became very ill and lost a contact so was off ill also his mum had to go in for back surgery and his dad had serious case of pneumonia and broke a rib so he was being sol carer for them. and while shopping with all his family his personel manger came up to him and said how he was disrespecting his fellow worker (who was all ok with him as they know how bad he is) and had a right do at him. and many other did the same. tho he was with his mum in a wheel chair and his sis and her 2 kids and wen they said it he was stood still talking to some1 while wait 4 them to come back. he was of all ova xmas as much with stress as KC. so me and his friends convinced him to come out for a pint in our local pub to help him chill out for abit and he was always with 1 of us. he went back to work this week and is facing a disaplinary to me is stupid and cant be right as he had sick notes and his disaplinary not being done by his normal manger but some1 more senior. and was back work 6-3 shift straight away to be honest it is horrible watch my friend going through so much shit specially as he try to bend over backwards to help them

i just need any info, guidence and help i can get

thank you

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rosemary johnson
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Re: struggling and confused

Postby rosemary johnson » Tue 13 Jan 2009 10:29 pm

SOrry to hear your friend is having all this hassle.
Is he in a trade union? - is there one he could join?
Most important - keep a diary of all these events. COllect together and keep carefully all paperwork about past agreements (like not doing 6-3 shifts).
Could he bring a grievance about the hassl ehe's been getting? - a union rep will advise on this, but the company should have a standard grievance procedure and he should have access to copies of the procedure to know how it works.
Rosemary

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Anne Klepacz
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Re: struggling and confused

Postby Anne Klepacz » Wed 14 Jan 2009 10:38 am

Another option would be for your friend to contact an employment advisor at either Action for Blind People or RNIB. Both have people who can intervene with employers and make suggestions for how the employer can make the 'reasonable adjustments' they are bound to make under the Disability Discrimination Act for anyone with a disability.
Anne

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GarethB
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Re: struggling and confused

Postby GarethB » Wed 14 Jan 2009 12:43 pm

Cato 4eva

Having worked in a supermarket everyone was part of the union and they are very good at standing up for their members. As a member you have the right for a union representative to be present at any disciplinary hearing and they themselves will fund extra help such as working with Action for the Blind and ensuring the Disability Discrimiantion Act (DDA) is being followed correctly.

This is the route others have gone down with their employers and although a long drawn out process, they have been succesful in retaining their jobs and some have resulted in compensation packages too.

Regards

Gareth
Last edited by Karl R on Wed 14 Jan 2009 7:04 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Reason: removed a reference to edited post
Gareth

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Karl R
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Re: struggling and confused

Postby Karl R » Wed 14 Jan 2009 7:01 pm

Hi cato4eva, I apologize in advance but this will be a fairly long post :)

There are two issues surrounding your friend and his employer.

1. The provision, or not, of reasonable adjustments under the Disability discrimination Act made by the employer
2. Working hours and rest

Taking each into it's own consideration.

1.

As your friend has had KC for 6 years, he will almost certainly come under the remit of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 and the Disability Discrimination Act 2005(I say almost certainly as only a Judge can give the definitive answer of the meaning of disability). These acts give your friend a lot of rights in respect to employment and places a duty on an employer to ensure that any disabled person in their employment is not discriminated against.

Equality and Human Rights Commission wrote:The Disability Discrimination Act says a disabled person is someone with ‘a physical or mental impairment which has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on his ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities’.

Examples include cancer, diabetes, multiple sclerosis and heart conditions; hearing or sight impairments, or a significant mobility difficulty; and mental health conditions or learning difficulties. People in these circumstances and some others (such as people with a facial disfigurement) are likely to have rights under the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) to protect them from discrimination. However, only the courts can say if a particular individual is defined as disabled under the legislation.


Your friend's employer is duty bound to make reasonable adjustments to his work environment such that your friend is not significantly disadvantaged by his disability. These adjustments include, but are not limited to:

    * allocating some of your work to someone else
    * transferring you to another post or another place of work
    * making adjustments to the buildings where you work
    * being flexible about your hours - allowing you to have different core working hours and to be away from the office for assessment, treatment or rehabilitation
    * providing training or retraining if you cannot do your current job any longer
    * providing modified equipment
    * making instructions and manuals more accessible
    * providing a reader or interpreter

A useful publication to read would be the Disability Rights Commission (now part of the Equality and Human Rights Commission) Code of Practice for employment and occupation. It is a large document, but very useful in cases such as this. The document can be downloaded from here


2.

You state that your friend has experienced a 9 pm finish followed by a 6 am start the following day. This is unlawful under the employment act as there has to be 11 hours consecutive rest in every 24 hours

If your friend is not a member of the union USDAW, I would strongly suggest he become a member asap. Your friend will need to raise a formal grievance against his employer, this needs to be in writing, and his employer cannot deny him access to the grievance procedure lawfully.

Ultimately if a formal grievance fails to rectify the matter your friend will be entitled to start an Employment Tribunal claim in the grounds of discrimination. This is where membership of a union is very useful as they will be able to represent your friend in any such claim and have access to specialized advice in this area. That said it is not impossible for your friend to make a tribunal claim by himself, as from experience, but it will be stressful; he will need to be very well read up on the subject and know the procedures, relevant applicable laws and how to demonstrate discrimination effectively.

As Rosemary has suggested, your friend needs to make a chronological list of all occurrences of alleged discrimination and any adjustments made or agreed, be they in writing or verbal.
There is only one difference between a madman and me. The madman thinks he is sane. I know I am mad. (Salvador Dali 1904-1989)

cato4eva
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Posts: 8
Joined: Mon 12 May 2008 1:28 pm
Keratoconus: No, I don't suffer from KC

Re: struggling and confused

Postby cato4eva » Wed 14 Jan 2009 8:56 pm

thank you alot of this i knew and iswot is so bothering me by wot is going on and it is so hard to know where to go he is part of the union but there is probablem there as anything which is why is is hard to know wot is best

can any1 tell me of any independant help service (eg websites, address or numbers ) i may be able to contact

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GarethB
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Re: struggling and confused

Postby GarethB » Wed 14 Jan 2009 9:22 pm

Action For the blind - http://www.actionforblindpeople.org.uk/

RNIB - http://www.rnib.org/xpedio/groups/publi ... tHome.hcsp

Disability Discrimination Act - http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/DisabledPeo ... /index.htm

All the above have people who either specialise in helping people with vision problems or people with disabilities.

If i have missed any, just stick the names of the organisations mentioned into google.
Gareth

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Andrew MacLean
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Re: struggling and confused

Postby Andrew MacLean » Thu 15 Jan 2009 11:22 am

Or, you could see your local Citizens Advice Bureau.

All the best

Andrew
Andrew MacLean


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