Manager not keeping to 'reasonable adjustments'

Breezay

Hi all!

I've been employed with the same company now for about 10 months or so.. Things have been going great, but then I started getting periods of low mood. I went to my GP, who sent me to the CMHT & I am being assessed for a mood disorder - something along the lines of bipolar 2.

I've been pretty upfront about this to my manager & he started off being understanding, saying that he'd suffered with depression himself & whatnot. That went well.. I did ask him at the time to reduce my hrs though, from 39 a week to 24. He said no, but he would give me one shift a week off as holiday instead, so I'd work 32hrs, but be paid 39. This would go on until Christmas - when the rest of my holiday ran out basically.

This never happened & a week after our conversation, I had to go off work sick for a week because I just couldn't cope with full time hrs. I brought this up with him again & he suggested we get HR involved. At this point, he's started threatening me with disciplinary action for my absence. We go by the bradford index at work & my score now reaches the point where I should be having warnings & whatnot. He says to me that he won't give me the warning, but should I have another day off then he will be forced to put me under investigation - this means he is skipping steps in the absence procedure.

We finally had a sit down meeting with HR. It was me, the manager & the HR team leader. We spoke about how my moods affect me at work & I said that I need my hrs cutting (he did this just a week before our meeting, thankfully!) and that I needed some structure throughout the day as one of my biggest issues when I don't come in is panic attacks. I have them because I feel like the day will never end, so I need structure for each task.. I can't be on the till for long periods of time because it causes panic attacks & I need to know how long I will be there for as pretending to be smiley & helpful is exhausting when I am low in mood. They both agreed that this was fine, doable & they would start the next day - my next shift. So I went in on Weds.. there's no rota, no structure, everyone pretty much ignores my bells for help from the till & I am stuck on there for several hrs. Meanwhile, we have other colleagues in doing jobs that I could also do.. So I don't understand why my manager is doing this to me?! Especially considering our conversation just the day before!

The deputy manager approaches me, talks to me, I tell her that I am having panic attacks on the till, and what was discussed the day before. She tells me that the manager didn't even tell her about this & tells me to go back to the till for a few minutes while she speaks to him. An hour & a half later (the rest of my shift basically), the manager comes down, buys things he needs & pretends like there is nothing wrong!

I was supposed to go in today, but my mood has been pretty low since Weds, I just couldn't face a repeat of Weds. I wanted to walk out midway through my shift. I just couldn't cope!

What can I do? I feel like I am being picked on.. This isn't fair. I am being trained to be one of the most knowledgeable colleagues in our area & they're treating me like I've just started! It honestly feels like they see me as weaker than the other colleagues since I told them about my MH problems. There is another girl there who has disclosed MH problems & she is treated the same. Although, they don't view me as sick because I've not been prescribed antidepressants. I told them that ADs make mood disorders worse & that I am trying to manage it with the help of the CMHT, rather than go on mood stabilisers straight off the bat because the side effects are brutal!

They pretend like they care & are trying to help, but everything they do says otherwise to me. I am thinking about calling ACAS tomorrow & seeing what they say, & my CPN told me about the equality and human rights commission.. Is is worth calling HR & telling them what's happened too?

I'd love some outside thoughts on this & advice if possible. I am feeling rather fragile atm, so calling people is daunting. I wish my OH could do it all for me! Even calling in sick this morning was difficult, it will be worse if I have to call in sick tomorrow as I know I will be leaving them short & it's the same managers from Weds

I just wanted some support while I go through my assessment with the CMHT & get some help.. I honestly don't think the 'adjustments' I asked for were all that much (a till rota & only spend 3hrs at a time on the till).. & the lady from HR agreed to them, as did my manager. I haven't received anything in writing though. They said Occy Health is an option, but I don't seem sick enough for that. I don't know how they want me to justify my illness to them? My CPN has offered to speak to them if it comes to it.. Tell them what my rights are etc! He's very big on equal rights for people with MH problems.

Thank you in advance for any replies x

Breezay

Scrootum wrote: »

Just bear in mid the act says reasonable. Probably not the case but from your post you are sounding like very hard work.

How is it unreasonable to request a till rota? (Something the store should be doing anyway?) And the 3hrs on the till was the woman from HR's suggestion.

I understand that adjustments must be reasonable.. But we'd already agreed on the adjustments, the manager just isn't keeping to them. HR didn't seem to think there would be any problem at all! In fact, I think she was relieved that's all I needed.

ERICS_MUM

Did you, your manager or HR put in writing what was agreed at the meeting? You could ask for a review after a few weeks to discuss how/if it's working and if anything else can be done.

I suppose Christmas is a problem at the moment with shops being at their busiest ?

Breezay

ERICS_MUM wrote: »

Did you, your manager or HR put in writing what was agreed at the meeting? You could ask for a review after a few weeks to discuss how/if it's working and if anything else can be done.

I suppose Christmas is a problem at the moment with shops being at their busiest ?

Surprisingly, our store isn't particularly busy. Lol. We are in a retail park & for some reason, it's just not been very busy at all!

The woman from HR made notes, but nothing was signed or handed out as 'official'. I am thinking that when I contact her tomorrow, I might ask her to send me the adjustments agreed in writing so I at least have a copy.

When I'm not in, people share the till time.. Usually it's around 2-3 hrs each. When I'm in, I can easily be left on the till for 7-8hrs (basically my entire shift). Before I became unwell, I was one of their best colleagues. Not wanting to be big headed, but I am very knowledgeable, which is why I was given the extra training. Now I feel as though I am being treated differently to the other colleagues, purely because I have a MH condition.. Which, although it is classed as long term, is being assessed & will be managed properly in the future

Takeaway_Addict

Be practial, less emotional and why didn't you ask your manager on the wednesday after 3 hours to move? Did you not have a break at any time where you could go and find him?

scooby088

As I see it OP there has to be reasonable adjustment, but on the other hand you have been there only 10 months and the company could get rid of you for any reason within the first two years. They may start to discipline you for your attendance to get rid of you that way.

But I would follow up with the HR person for something in writing as then you have concrete proof of something was agreed.

Breezay

Takeaway_Addict wrote: »

Be practial, less emotional and why didn't you ask your manager on the wednesday after 3 hours to move? Did you not have a break at any time where you could go and find him?

I told him on my lunch break & I told the deputy manager, but as far as telling them during the fact.. Not a lot I can do when I'm on the till & they're in the office, ignoring bells to come out!

I feel like I'm the one being unreasonable here. I am covered under the disability act & I just want to know where I stand with them not actually putting the things they agreed to in place. There's nothing I can do to force them to do it, but why even agree to these adjustments if they weren't planning to do them?

The adjustments weren't completely out of order & even the manager & HR woman said at the time that they seemed easy enough to do.

They can, by all means, discipline me.. But I think now they've failed to act on their own adjustments, I would be able to sue for unfair dismissal. I will just call ACAS tomorrow, they will have advice for me & certainly won't judge me for being unwell!

madvixen

Removed as I had not seen post #8

madvixen

Breezay wrote: »

They said Occy Health is an option, but I don't seem sick enough for that. I don't know how they want me to justify my illness to them?

Go and see them!!! When I was diagnosed with a disability, it was Occy Health that wrote the letter to work stating that I was covered under the Equality Act and that they had to make reasonable adjustments.

Work need to be told that you are covered by EA and Occ Health are well placed to do this.

Takeaway_Addict

Breezay wrote: »

I told him on my lunch break & I told the deputy manager, but as far as telling them during the fact.. Not a lot I can do when I'm on the till & they're in the office, ignoring bells to come out!

I feel like I'm the one being unreasonable here. I am covered under the disability act & I just want to know where I stand with them not actually putting the things they agreed to in place. There's nothing I can do to force them to do it, but why even agree to these adjustments if they weren't planning to do them?

The adjustments weren't completely out of order & even the manager & HR woman said at the time that they seemed easy enough to do.

They can, by all means, discipline me.. But I think now they've failed to act on their own adjustments, I would be able to sue for unfair dismissal. I will just call ACAS tomorrow, they will have advice for me & certainly won't judge me for being unwell!

Its the equality act and in real terms you wouldn't sue them you would take them to a tribunal which is stressful in itself. If they are not being reasonable on these small matters (I tend to agree what you are asking for in terms of a maximum number of hours etc is) will they if larger ones come to the fore?

Have you started looking for another job if things start getting worse?