RSI being ignored at work

chaos_jaxx

Hi all

My partner has been suffering from shoulder pain from being sat at a till for hours on end.

She was referred to internal occupational health who decided she had RSI. They then sent a letter to management stating she should not do any more than 2 hours sat on till in one go.

She comes home more often than not complaining to me that she ends up being on till for longer periods than they said. She has told them that she is in pain but they are ignoring her please.

But she is soft (kind hearted) and doesn't like confrontation. But when she comes home almost in tears most days, I am pushing for her to speak to occupational health and her regional manager about her immediate managers complete lack of respect for her staff.

Any advice of how we should go about moving forward?

nicechap

chaos_jaxx wrote: »

Hi all

My partner has been suffering from shoulder pain from being sat at a till for hours on end.

She was referred to internal occupational health who decided she had RSI. They then sent a letter to management stating she should not do any more than 2 hours sat on till in one go.

She comes home more often than not complaining to me that she ends up being on till for longer periods than they said. She has told them that she is in pain but they are ignoring her please.

But she is soft (kind hearted) and doesn't like confrontation. But when she comes home almost in tears most days, I am pushing for her to speak to occupational health and her regional manager about her immediate managers complete lack of respect for her staff.

Any advice of how we should go about moving forward?

Unless she says something to her immediate line manager/ supervisor, her condition is likely to get worse and then where will she be? Does she want years of pain in retirement? Does her supervisor/ line manger know the Occupation Health recommendation? - maybe drop a copy into their post tray, but even then, your partner has to stand up for herself.

Takeaway_Addict

chaos_jaxx wrote: »

Hi all

My partner has been suffering from shoulder pain from being sat at a till for hours on end.

She was referred to internal occupational health who decided she had RSI. They then sent a letter to management stating she should not do any more than 2 hours sat on till in one go.

She comes home more often than not complaining to me that she ends up being on till for longer periods than they said. She has told them that she is in pain but they are ignoring her please.

But she is soft (kind hearted) and doesn't like confrontation. But when she comes home almost in tears most days, I am pushing for her to speak to occupational health and her regional manager about her immediate managers complete lack of respect for her staff.

Any advice of how we should go about moving forward?

2 hours max at a time- What break in between?


She needs to speak up as you say but if she is meant to be on the till as her main job then she needs to be able to do this work.

chaos_jaxx

Unless she says something to her immediate line manager/ supervisor, her condition is likely to get worse and then where will she be? Does she want years of pain in retirement? Does her supervisor/ line manger know the Occupation Health recommendation? - maybe drop a copy into their post tray, but even then, your partner has to stand up for herself

Her manager was sent a quote and told the assistant managers of what was advised, it started well but has now pretty much stopped. 4hours on till tonight.

chaos_jaxx

2 hours max at a time- What break in between?


She needs to speak up as you say but if she is meant to be on the till as her main job then she needs to be able to do this work.

2 hours on till then 2 hours doing other duties, back on till for 2 hours etc.

I think she gets a normal lunch break during her shift.

Energize

Do the occupational health staff have a medical degree that qualifies them to diagnose RSI?

I would personally seek proper medical advice from a doctor than risk permanent injury.

nicechap

chaos_jaxx wrote: »

2 hours on till then 2 hours doing other duties, back on till for 2 hours etc.

I think she gets a normal lunch break during her shift.

That is 2 hours max at a time.

If she’s still struggling, she needs to go back to occupational health or find work that is not going to cause her long term damage.

JReacher1

How long has she worked there? Less than two years they may just get rid of her if she complains too much.

What about sitting at the till is giving her RSI? Can she wear a support band to make things better?

Les79

Are "other duties" available?

I mean I know that staff regularly stock shelves during the day (which could be another duty of the till worker), but I've also known supermarkets to hire night workers (10pm - 6am ish?) who stock the shelves overnight. I suspect that till workers DO stock shelves as part of their job description, but I'm not confident on that and it could be the case that your partner has been hired ONLY to work on the tills.

If that's the case then arguably the company will be unable to accommodate her in doing her actual job role, beyond the 2 hours (resulting in her having to go home sick).

theoretica

It is easy enough to accommodate something for a week or two and then think of course it is better and can go back to normal. If she doesn't explain to her manager that it is still ongoing and decline long shifts then it could be forgotten.

Is it both shoulders? Has she had a workplace assessment? They are usually done for computers, but can help with other workspaces too.

dickydonkin

If the Supermarket is a large chain, then they should have a safety professional employed who would have (or should have) conducted risk assessments for the task(s).

Potentially, the workstation would come under the remit of the DSE regs (Display Screen Equipment) Regulations 1992) and the employer needs to comply.

The basis of determining the problem would be in the form of a risk assessment - initially in the form of a questionnaire to fill in by the user, and then any issues raised would then be remedied.

A 'one size fits all' or generic risk assessment I find is quite useless for DSE and ergonomic issues as we are all different - hence the individual questionnaire which can identify issues specific to the person.

Many WRULD's (Work Related Upper Limb Disorders) are caused by poor posture and perhaps this is something that could be looked at. It is difficult to determine the problem without seeing the workstation, the individual and the operation in general.

Many on here have have suggested reactive measures, however, the problem is never going to be resolved unless it is determined what is causing the discomfort in the first place.

The OP's partner should progress this and ask the store manager for the safety professional to become involved and undertake the assessment and advise on how to avoid musculoskeletal disorders.

It is really in the employers interest to do this - not only from a legal perspective, but to avoid any potential claims in the future.