A smelly problem

alwaysonthego_2

My dh works in a factory and has to pair up with other collegues and they have to work in very close proximity to one another. The employer has taken on another staff member who previously worked there before. This guy really smells bad, he says he is allergic to deodorant (sp) and soap, yet he wears the same undies and t-shirt for days on end. All the staff team do not want to work with him as he smells so bad that it is affecting their work. They cannot bear to eat their lunch in the staff canteen anymore as it puts them off their lunch so they eat it in their cars.

I rung ACAS and they suggested that he put in a formal grievance, which I suggested to him. But they have said if the employer, who is aware of the situation, does not want to do anything about then my DH and his collegues would have to put up with it. I have suggested that they delegate someone to talk to him but they do not want to come across as bullies. My DH has been there for 5 years.

Vader123

alwaysonthego wrote: »

My dh works in a factory and has to pair up with other collegues and they have to work in very close proximity to one another. The employer has taken on another staff member who previously worked there before. This guy really smells bad, he says he is allergic to deodorant (sp) and soap, yet he wears the same undies and t-shirt for days on end. All the staff team do not want to work with him as he smells so bad that it is affecting their work. They cannot bear to eat their lunch in the staff canteen anymore as it puts them off their lunch so they eat it in their cars.

I rung ACAS and they suggested that he put in a formal grievance, which I suggested to him. But they have said if the employer, who is aware of the situation, does not want to do anything about then my DH and his collegues would have to put up with it. I have suggested that they delegate someone to talk to him but they do not want to come across as bullies. My DH has been there for 5 years.

I used to work with someone who was also allergic to soap and aresols. Its not a problem, there are plenty of other products out there that can be used. The guy I worked with used to bring in his own soap so he could use the loo and wash his hands, thats not a excuse IMO.

The first step is to report this to your manager. I would say speak to the chap, but it sounds like its been done and besides, its your manager who gets paid to have these awkward chats.

If there is no improvement I would suggest a grievance is the only way forward. Can a few of you get together and approach the managers?

Vader

alwaysonthego_2

Vader123 wrote: »

I used to work with someone who was also allergic to soap and aresols. Its not a problem, there are plenty of other products out there that can be used. The guy I worked with used to bring in his own soap so he could use the loo and wash his hands, thats not a excuse IMO.

The first step is to report this to your manager. I would say speak to the chap, but it sounds like its been done and besides, its your manager who gets paid to have these awkward chats.

If there is no improvement I would suggest a grievance is the only way forward. Can a few of you get together and approach the managers?

Vader

I have suggested that they allocate someone to speak to the manager [who is also the owner;it is a small company]. The manager seems to stick his head in the sand and ignore any problems, though I suppose he will not be happy if his profit margin if affected.

tsimehC

Various members of my family have an allergy to soap so they use aqueous cream but that's no excuse to wear clean clothes. He might have leaky gas syndrome which affects a high number of people if he is changing his clothes, did you check his undies? If so, how did you your dh about it? :P

Sorry I don't know any employee rights but for H&S reasons, it seems a bit ignorant of the manager to dig his head in the sand as you put it.

alwaysonthego_2

tsimehC wrote: »

Various members of my family have an allergy to soap so they use aqueous cream but that's no excuse to wear clean clothes. He might have leaky gas syndrome which affects a high number of people if he is changing his clothes, did you check his undies? If so, how did you your dh about it? :P

Sorry I don't know any employee rights but for H&S reasons, it seems a bit ignorant of the manager to dig his head in the sand as you put it.

My dh only knows about him wearing the same undies as his trousers keep falling down and in my dh's words 'They were rank' :rotfl::rotfl: