Disability Discrimination?

SeaLion_2

miniphernalia wrote: »

With the windows open I am cold from the draughts and suffering from pain and discomfort.

The others want the windows open as they are complaining its too hot.

The office is in a clinical area, no ties or clothing below the elbows.

Closing the windows to limit or prevent a draught against my twisted and contorted spine is reasonable because it is cost neutral and is directly affecting my physical well-being.
And the office being too hot is directly affecting the well being of others, some of whom may also have a hidden disability


Work environments like this do not have a maximum temp but they do have a minimum.
Which is clearly not being breached - you say yourself you think the office is warm


The others can make use of desk fans if they think its too hot.
And you could make use of warmer clothing, in the same vein

The office is warm in my opinion but the problem lays in the exposure to freezing cold draughts, the opening of windows that are not normally opened, the re-opening of windows after I have closed them and the total disregard for the Managers acceptance that the windows should remain shut.
Disregard for the manager's acceptance? It's not for you to fight the manager's battles, he has clearly backtracked on that one

You need to stop and think about how this is from other people's points of view, and consider what you could do to help yourself in the first instance, before you go off into paranoia and make yourself more unpopular.

I appreciate that you probably felt very uncomfortable in the team meeting, explaining about your spine, however it is a difficult situation for anyone to manage - all they are limited to saying is that this is not for discussion. Sometimes it's better to let it all come out in the hope that will change the team dynamics. It's a pity it doesn't appear to have worked in this case.

dori2o

SeaLion wrote: »

You need to stop and think about how this is from other people's points of view, and consider what you could do to help yourself in the first instance, before you go off into paranoia and make yourself more unpopular.

I appreciate that you probably felt very uncomfortable in the team meeting, explaining about your spine, however it is a difficult situation for anyone to manage - all they are limited to saying is that this is not for discussion. Sometimes it's better to let it all come out in the hope that will change the team dynamics. It's a pity it doesn't appear to have worked in this case.

None of what you have posted changes the fact that the employer has an obligation to make reasonable adjustments for the OP (assuming that the condition is defined as a disability under the EA2010).

Closing the windows is cost neutral, i.e. it costs the employer nothing to do it. By not closing the windows the employer is facing significant costs if the OP decides to take the employer to tribunal for failing to make necessary reasonable adjustments.

Yes the OP should also do whatever they can to try and keep the draft off their back, but ultimately it is very likely that a court would deem the closure of windows to be reasonable in this case.

As for those who believe the office is too warm the employer can implement localised cooling, i.e. fans, which would cool the person working in that area but wouldn't affect the OPs condition.

As the Law currently stands disability trumps the wants of the majority when it comes to the workplace. It's as simple as that.

If I was the manager in this case I would simply put it to the other staff this way: If the OP s condition worsens because of the problems being caused by the draft from the open windows, or because a specialist chair had not been provided, or because a simple move to a warmer part of the office hadn't been made, then there is the possibility that the OP would need to take time off because they could no longer manage their condition. If the OP does require to be off because of their condition then there would be increased workload pressures on the remaining people within the team as the OPs workload would need to continue to be covere. That would mean the team would have to work twice as hard to cover the loss of a vital team member.

Unfortunately the OP does not seem to have a supportive manager or management structure in place where they work.

Tiddlywinks

dori2o wrote: »

None of what you have posted changes the fact that the employer has an obligation to make reasonable adjustments for the OP (assuming that the condition is defined as a disability under the EA2010).

Closing the windows is cost neutral, i.e. it costs the employer nothing to do it. By not closing the windows the employer is facing significant costs if the OP decides to take the employer to tribunal for failing to make necessary reasonable adjustments.

Yes the OP should also do whatever they can to try and keep the draft off their back, but ultimately it is very likely that a court would deem the closure of windows to be reasonable in this case.

.............

As the Law currently stands disability trumps the wants of the majority when it comes to the workplace. It's as simple as that.

.

Eh, no.... 'Reasonable' is not just about cost - it is also about practicalities and impact on the business and workforce.

Reading some of your other posts over the past months you do seem to have an exaggerated sense of entitlement around your disability...

The welfare of one person will not 'trump' the welfare of the rest of the team - everyone is equally important.... It would not be reasonable to deny a comfortable environment for the majority simply to ease the comfort of one.

Your arrogance around this issue is astounding.

Wicked_witch

I read this yesterday and have ended up mulling it over since. My knee jerk reaction was 'yes, that is discrimination!'. That's because my husband has suffered some shocking discrimination in work and at college in the past and the whole 'why does OP get all the special treatment?' complaining particularly hit a nerve. So I do understand where you're coming from OP!

On reflection, I think the real problem lies with the culture in your office. Everyone is very uncomfortable and you are being singled out to be made more comfortable. Your colleagues are taking the petty-minded route of demanding that if they have to be uncomfortable, so do you- possibly due to your supervisor fostering that attitude but also very possibly because people aren't always thinking clearly when they're unhappy.

The actual solution to the problem is for everyone to demand that the heating be turned to sensible levels or if that's not possible, for some or all of the heaters to be switched off. The first might be too difficult if a large building is reliant on the same thermostat but there is no reason at all other than bloody mindedness that radiators can't be switched off or otherwise disabled.

Rather than the 'I'm unhappy so you should be unhappy' attitude, the group as a whole needs to ensure that everyone is happy. If you can try to get the heating sorted out, it may also change people's attitudes towards you.

Is it fair that the disabled person has to try and fix things for everyone? Of course not. But the alternative is being unhappy in a room full of other unhappy people.

Good luck.

Dunroamin

dori2o wrote: »

None of what you have posted changes the fact that the employer has an obligation to make reasonable adjustments for the OP (assuming that the condition is defined as a disability under the EA2010).

Closing the windows is cost neutral, i.e. it costs the employer nothing to do it. By not closing the windows the employer is facing significant costs if the OP decides to take the employer to tribunal for failing to make necessary reasonable adjustments.

Yes the OP should also do whatever they can to try and keep the draft off their back, but ultimately it is very likely that a court would deem the closure of windows to be reasonable in this case.

As for those who believe the office is too warm the employer can implement localised cooling, i.e. fans, which would cool the person working in that area but wouldn't affect the OPs condition.

As the Law currently stands disability trumps the wants of the majority when it comes to the workplace. It's as simple as that.

If I was the manager in this case I would simply put it to the other staff this way: If the OP s condition worsens because of the problems being caused by the draft from the open windows, or because a specialist chair had not been provided, or because a simple move to a warmer part of the office hadn't been made, then there is the possibility that the OP would need to take time off because they could no longer manage their condition. If the OP does require to be off because of their condition then there would be increased workload pressures on the remaining people within the team as the OPs workload would need to continue to be covere. That would mean the team would have to work twice as hard to cover the loss of a vital team member.

Unfortunately the OP does not seem to have a supportive manager or management structure in place where they work.

It's attitudes like this that make employers reluctant to employ people with disabilities - I'm surprised that you don't make that connestion.

SeaLion_2

Dunroamin wrote: »

It's attitudes like this that make employers reluctant to employ people with disabilities - I'm surprised that you don't make that connestion.

Doritos clearly doesn't know what he or she is talking about. Not even the basics, ie a manager can't discuss someone else's health issues. And also assumes that 'cost neutral' equates to reasonable, and can't distinguish between people's 'wants' and their physical needs. Not worth wasting your pixels on

seven-day-weekend

Yorkie1 wrote: »

I think there's some over-harsh comments here to the OP.

She states that she has a disability related to a spinal condition, which is aggravated by draughts. The law states that the employer has to consider reasonable adjustments. And yet people here say that the OP has to ignore reasonable adjustments, essentially risk having to leave her job because the condition is aggravated so much, because there's more non-disabled people in the office who whinge.

If there are other ways of managing the temperature issue in the office, i.e. fans, then clearly the windows remaining shut would appear to be a reasonable adjustment.

If the OP has to have a special chair because of a disability then that is none of the other employees' business.

And I think it's disgraceful that a manager put the OP in the position of having to disclose sensitive personal / medical information in a team meeting in order to try to shut up the whingers. They have absolutely no right to know that information, and it's for the manager to manage that without breaking the DPA as regards the OP.

OP, are you in a union?

But surely if shutting the windows means that everyone else is too hot, then this is NOT a a reasonable adjustment?

I used to jobshare with a woman who had severe RSI. We shared a desk and a computer, as we worked different halves of the week. She had the computer and workstation set up to suit her disability; however, it was totally wrong for me and was uncomfortable for me to work at the station. I told management this and they gave her a completely different desk and computer just set up for her and mine was made comfortable for me. Job done.

I do not think everyone else should have to suffer to cater for someone else's disability. The OP will have to consider other ways of keeping warm.