whose responsibility?

pickpocketlocket

thegirlintheattic wrote: »

As you'd only need the chair in an emergency evacuation could you not put up with the pain. Not being nasty, but if you don't want to go through ATW, it seems like the easiest option.

I would echo this - surely the pain caused in the short term would be far outweighed by still being alive?

The duty to make RA's does lie with the employer. However, a tribunal is unlikely to entertain a claim where the employee has not mitigated their situation by acting on a reasonable request from their employer.

dori2o

thegirlintheattic wrote: »

As you'd only need the chair in an emergency evacuation could you not put up with the pain. Not being nasty, but if you don't want to go through ATW, it seems like the easiest option.

It's not just a case of being in pain 'for the short term'.

As an example I was forced to take part in an evacuation in March despite my evacuation p[lan stating that I do not wish to evacuate. Despite addressing my concerns to the employer that this would not just hurt a little bit and then be fine afterwards, that forcing me to evacuate was going to have a serious effect on my condition for weeks/months afterwards, my words fell on deaf ears.

After the drill my knee swelled up like av football and remained that way for weeks, the pain in my leg increased considerably and my morphine went from 80mg per day upto 200mg per dayand that still wasn't enough to control the pain.

It eventually led to me needing 12 weeks off work to get back to a position where I was able to function at 85/90%.

If it was a bit of pain whilst I was going down the stairs and everything was OK afterwards I wouldn't have a problem with it. But it's not and not only does it affect my work, it affects my whole life.

pickpocketlocket

dori2o wrote: »

It's not just a case of being in pain 'for the short term'.

As an example I was forced to take part in an evacuation in March despite my evacuation p[lan stating that I do not wish to evacuate. Despite addressing my concerns to the employer that this would not just hurt a little bit and then be fine afterwards, that forcing me to evacuate was going to have a serious effect on my condition for weeks/months afterwards, my words fell on deaf ears.

After the drill my knee swelled up like av football and remained that way for weeks, the pain in my leg increased considerably and my morphine went from 80mg per day upto 200mg per dayand that still wasn't enough to control the pain.

It eventually led to me needing 12 weeks off work to get back to a position where I was able to function at 85/90%.

If it was a bit of pain whilst I was going down the stairs and everything was OK afterwards I wouldn't have a problem with it. But it's not and not only does it affect my work, it affects my whole life.

According to your other thread you did not used the evac chair on the previous evacuation?

Having scanned through some of your old threads, I have to say I think your employer has been brilliant in all of the adjustments they have made for you. In the private sector you would have been (fairly) dismissed years ago. I appreciate you wish to stay in work, but you need to meet the employer halfway, and at the moment I don't believe you are.

Poppie68

I have spinal problems and RA is eating away ..so to speak at my hips, knees and ankles as well as nerve damage around both knees. I have had too be evacuted twice on an evac chair and yes i was in alot of pain during and after...but just glad i was got out safetly. As for your senior manager telling you not to use the landing/stairwell, speak to your building Fire Officer, we have 4 and they over rule all managers etc.

dori2o

pickpocketlocket wrote: »

According to your other thread you did not used the evac chair on the previous evacuation?

Having scanned through some of your old threads, I have to say I think your employer has been brilliant in all of the adjustments they have made for you. In the private sector you would have been (fairly) dismissed years ago. I appreciate you wish to stay in work, but you need to meet the employer halfway, and at the moment I don't believe you are.

How dare you.

I do meet the employer, more than halfway.

I have done all I can to stay in work, I come in when I can barely walk, I've come in when I've been completely unable to walk.

I've come into work when I'm sufferring the affects of an increase in medication, including headaches, nausea, and other problems.

I've reduced my hours to try and get work to fit in with my condition, yet I still often arrive early and stay late when needed.

I keep my employer upto date with every single aspect of my condition so they know what is going on and what may be happening in the future.

I could just give up and choose to live on the sick for the rest of my days, but I actually don't want to, I'd rather try working.

I have done the ATW thing, I can only hope my experience this time is better than last. I have moved onto the ground floor where I know nobody and am sat alone working, with only the odd email from my manager as a form of conversation. I cannot use the evac chair, I have tried in the past when my condition was far better than it is now.

I am not willing to chance the problems I have had before for the sake of an evacuation, as I said it doesn't only affect me whilst I'm at work, I have the rest of my day to day living to think about.

That may seem selfish, but I don't live to work, I have a life outside of work and it shouldn't be adversely affected by something as trivial as this.

marybelle01

dori2o wrote: »

How dare you.

I do meet the employer, more than halfway.

I have done all I can to stay in work, I come in when I can barely walk, I've come in when I've been completely unable to walk.

I've come into work when I'm sufferring the affects of an increase in medication, including headaches, nausea, and other problems.

I've reduced my hours to try and get work to fit in with my condition, yet I still often arrive early and stay late when needed.

I keep my employer upto date with every single aspect of my condition so they know what is going on and what may be happening in the future.

I could just give up and choose to live on the sick for the rest of my days, but I actually don't want to, I'd rather try working.

I have done the ATW thing, I can only hope my experience this time is better than last. I have moved onto the ground floor where I know nobody and am sat alone working, with only the odd email from my manager as a form of conversation. I cannot use the evac chair, I have tried in the past when my condition was far better than it is now.

I am not willing to chance the problems I have had before for the sake of an evacuation, as I said it doesn't only affect me whilst I'm at work, I have the rest of my day to day living to think about.

That may seem selfish, but I don't live to work, I have a life outside of work and it shouldn't be adversely affected by something as trivial as this.

Is this the way you react when the employer asks you something or makes a comment? Nobody is saying that you aren't disabled, aren't in pain, aren't entitled to reasonable adjustments or a life. We aren't saying it and the employer isn't saying it. You were only asked to make a phone call! If AtW can't help you then they can't help you - but that doesn't mean that it is unreasonable to ask them to see what they might suggest. Your employers aren't experts in all forms of disability and all forms of adjustments. They have asked for an expert opinion. And they asked you to ring them so that AtW could consult with you about your disability directly.

If this is something "trivial" then stop shouting about it and live with it. If it isn't "trivial" then just get on with the very small thing your employer has reasonably asked you to do and see if a solution can be found. That way you can be happy, you can go back to the 7th floor, and you can chat to your friends, your manager, or anyone else you want to chat to.

dori2o

marybelle01 wrote: »

Is this the way you react when the employer asks you something or makes a comment? Nobody is saying that you aren't disabled, aren't in pain, aren't entitled to reasonable adjustments or a life. We aren't saying it and the employer isn't saying it. You were only asked to make a phone call! If AtW can't help you then they can't help you - but that doesn't mean that it is unreasonable to ask them to see what they might suggest. Your employers aren't experts in all forms of disability and all forms of adjustments. They have asked for an expert opinion. And they asked you to ring them so that AtW could consult with you about your disability directly.

If this is something "trivial" then stop shouting about it and live with it. If it isn't "trivial" then just get on with the very small thing your employer has reasonably asked you to do and see if a solution can be found. That way you can be happy, you can go back to the 7th floor, and you can chat to your friends, your manager, or anyone else you want to chat to.

As I have said 3 times now, I have phoned AtW this morning.

marybelle01

dori2o wrote: »

As I have said 3 times now, I have phoned AtW this morning.

So why are you still here complaining about it if you have done it? It no longer matters whose responsibility it is. It is done. Hopefully they will be able to suggest something. And by the way - I did read you had done it. I commented on the fact that the employer only asked you to make the call - no whether you had or not.

pickpocketlocket

dori2o wrote: »

That may seem selfish, but I don't live to work, I have a life outside of work and it shouldn't be adversely affected by something as trivial as this.

Having a disability means that your life outside of work will be affected by work, this is a fact, as a disabled person I know it all too well. If this job has too much of a negative impact for you, then find another one, just as a non disabled person would do if their work life balance was adversely affected.

I had all sympathy for your situation until I looked at your previous threads. marybelle01 commented earlier that you were making a mountain out of a molehill, and it seems you have done this many times.

dori2o

Ok, so I filled in the form, and sent it back to AtW and they got it on 6th September.

Just had this email back from them (**have edited it to remove identifying data)

I have received your Access to Work application today and I will be the adviser dealing with it.

I understand that your application is in connection with evacuation from the 7th floor of ******************* in the event of a fire alarm.

This is not actually an issue which Access to Work can assist you with. This is a health & safety matter and therefore is fully the responsibility of your employer.

I would suggest that they need to contact the estates services provider (**********) or the health & safety team and / or the local fire safety officer.

I understand that there are essentially 3 main options - re-location of your workstation to a lower floor in the building, provision of a specialist 'Evac' chair (or similar) to enable you to be assisted down the stairs, or identification of a 'safe zone' on your floor floor which you would locate to in the event of a fire. As mentioned, these are health & safety decisions which can only be made by your employer and on which AtW cannot advise.



I trust that this information is helpful to you. Please feel free to forward this email on to your employer representative and do get back to me if you require any further information

Kind regards

I have forwarded a copy of this email to my employer to review.