Work fibro and occupational health

[leejak]

Hi all
I have been forced to move to an upstairs office despite my concerns regarding having to go up and down the stairs.
I submitted a counter proposal to the moves which made much more sense but we informed the moves were a 'given' and going to happen regardless.

I spoke with occupational health.
A was of 45 mins of my life.
I advised her of my concerns with the stairs due to hip pain. She said and I quote I can and should use the stairs.
I honestly could kick myself after for not letting her have it both barrels.
Who is she to say that.

Well just wondering where I stand as the reasonable adjustments in place are not to carry anything while going up or down the stairs.

 

[sunkacola]

Seems to me that there's no need to kick yourself for not "letting her have it both barrels", since doing so could very well have gotten you fired.

I don't know how things work in the UK. Maybe there is another place where you can lodge a complaint. Here, they have to be accessible to people with disabilities.
You could get a lawyer and force them not to put you into an office you can get to without stairs. Of course, this kind of action can also backfire on you, and they might fire you, saying it was for some other reason, and you wouldn't be much ahead.

Bottom line is that if you cannot go up and down stairs without causing you great difficulty, and there's no way to change the situation where you work, you may need to look for a different job.

I suspect that if you keep pushing it where you are, no matter how (obviously) reasonable it is to ask for these things, you may find that not only are you not getting what you need but things get worse.

If it were me, I'd look for a different job.

 

[leejak]

Seems to me that there's no need to kick yourself for not "letting her have it both barrels", since doing so could very well have gotten you fired.

I don't know how things work in the UK. Maybe there is another place where you can lodge a complaint. Here, they have to be accessible to people with disabilities.
You could get a lawyer and force them not to put you into an office you can get to without stairs. Of course, this kind of action can also backfire on you, and they might fire you, saying it was for some other reason, and you wouldn't be much ahead.

Bottom line is that if you cannot go up and down stairs without causing you great difficulty, and there's no way to change the situation where you work, you may need to look for a different job.

I suspect that if you keep pushing it where you are, no matter how (obviously) reasonable it is to ask for these things, you may find that not only are you not getting what you need but things get worse.

If it were me, I'd look for a different job.

I have been with the company for 22 years.
It's a well known company in the UK.
They are meant to care for their employees wellbeing.

Clearly not the case.

Guess I will have to like it and lump it. Hope I don't fall down the stairs at any point!

 

[JayCS]

Guess I will have to like it and lump it.

I wonder if you could find a way to go up and down the stairs that minimizes the pain and at the same time would be sooo slooow and/or conspicuous that everyone starts getting tears in their eyes and also realize that this is not an effective solution, cos you're spending more time on the stairs than at your desk and blocking other people on the stairs too...?
They seem to be asking you to demonstrate, to make the pain visible...

That's the big difficulty for us humans - understanding and empathising others' pain if we can't see the reason.

 

[leejak]

I wonder if you could find a way to go up and down the stairs that minimizes the pain and at the same time would be sooo slooow and/or conspicuous that everyone starts getting tears in their eyes and also realize that this is not an effective solution, cos you're spending more time on the stairs than at your desk and blocking other people on the stairs too...?
They seem to be asking you to demonstrate, to make the pain visible...

That's the big difficulty for us humans - understanding and empathising others' pain if we can't see the reason.

It's my only hope I suppose

 

[sunkacola]

It's my only hope I suppose

Might be worth a try, Jay's suggestion. But I wouldn't give up hope on finding other ways to handle it also, maybe by searching online for the laws and regulations in your area and consulting briefly with an attorney in that field. If you've been with the company that long and have an excellent record, they might not be so eager to make something up to excuse firing you for pressing the issue. But only you know what they are like.

 

[Lauramary]

Do you have a federation or union representative that you could speak to about the issue at work?

Am I correct in understanding that Fibromyalgia is under the list of disabilities acknowledged by the government, so if you’re diagnosed and registered in that way, are you employer not then going against this? They should be making arrangements.
Speaking from my own workplace, I am without a diagnosis but going through the current motions with doctors and I have completed risk assessment in terms of seating and desk needs. I have also been asked by my occupational health if there is anything they can help with (IE place me downstairs to avoid stairs). It’s sad to hear that not all workplaces are this considerate but I would definitely look through some things! Hope that’s helpful

 

[sunkacola]

Am I correct in understanding that Fibromyalgia is under the list of disabilities acknowledged by the government

This depends on where you are and how they are interpreting the word "disability". In the US, Fibromyalgia is not considered a disability in and of itself, and if a person wanted disability accommodation or parking permit or whatever, they would have to prove on an individual basis that they truly needed that.

I don't know how it is in the UK. But it may be the same: that a person, even with a diagnosis, has to prove that it manifests in their specific body in a way that makes the accommodation necessary.