bad employer

[kriss]

after being unemployed for 3 years i got a job whoppeee in may this year and as im new to diabetes( feb 15 ) type 2 i was worried about telling my new employer about my diabetes i spoke to my diabetes nurse who told me you don't have to tell them anything just prove to them you can do a full time job then if you want tell them later . ok sounds fine as i have my diabetes under control no problems so i cant see a problem ,so i did my job until the 3rd week when there was a management meeting , i was given my job for the next week then i said you do remember i need 1/2 a day off monday( this was for a diabetic check up)and booked weeks before i took the job ,oh replied my line manager she was no at all pleased , i said i have to go some where but be ok tuesday no i asked you where are you going said my manager now as i was not willing to say in front of a room of people about my condition !!!!! i was told well if that's your attitude don't bother coming back !!!!!!!!!! now as im unemployed again my concern is do i say or not say about my condition next time

 

[Daibell]

That's very sad and very unexpected. The reality is that employer would have been bad anyway to work for. I don't think there is any need for a T2 to mention this to an employer unless on Gliclazide or insulin and hence a small hypo risk. We all have GP appointments and once or twice a year for a diabetes check-up is nothing, so just say you're going to the docs.

 

[Pipey]

after being unemployed for 3 years i got a job whoppeee in may this year and as im new to diabetes( feb 15 ) type 2 i was worried about telling my new employer about my diabetes i spoke to my diabetes nurse who told me you don't have to tell them anything just prove to them you can do a full time job then if you want tell them later . ok sounds fine as i have my diabetes under control no problems so i cant see a problem ,so i did my job until the 3rd week when there was a management meeting , i was given my job for the next week then i said you do remember i need 1/2 a day off monday( this was for a diabetic check up)and booked weeks before i took the job ,oh replied my line manager she was no at all pleased , i said i have to go some where but be ok tuesday no i asked you where are you going said my manager now as i was not willing to say in front of a room of people about my condition !!!!! i was told well if that's your attitude don't bother coming back !!!!!!!!!! now as im unemployed again my concern is do i say or not say about my condition next time

I am retired now, but when I was working my employers were very good and placed me under the Disability Discrimination Act. As a shift worker I was allowed to take time off without using any of my leave time.
I think you have been discriminated against, but you should have told your employer about the diabetes.

 

[TorqPenderloin]

Let's look at it from the manager's perspective: she recently hired an employee who hadn't worked for three years and is now asking for time off but won't explain why.....I don't blame her quite honestly. For all she knows, you're planning a trip to the beach.

There's no reason why you need to share specifics, but why didn't you just explain that it was medical/health-related/private in nature?


Edit due personal remark.

 

[AndBreathe]

after being unemployed for 3 years i got a job whoppeee in may this year and as im new to diabetes( feb 15 ) type 2 i was worried about telling my new employer about my diabetes i spoke to my diabetes nurse who told me you don't have to tell them anything just prove to them you can do a full time job then if you want tell them later . ok sounds fine as i have my diabetes under control no problems so i cant see a problem ,so i did my job until the 3rd week when there was a management meeting , i was given my job for the next week then i said you do remember i need 1/2 a day off monday( this was for a diabetic check up)and booked weeks before i took the job ,oh replied my line manager she was no at all pleased , i said i have to go some where but be ok tuesday no i asked you where are you going said my manager now as i was not willing to say in front of a room of people about my condition !!!!! i was told well if that's your attitude don't bother coming back !!!!!!!!!! now as im unemployed again my concern is do i say or not say about my condition next time

Firstly, had you been granted time off for your appointment before this interaction? If so, was that in writing?

You didn't need to disclose your condition if you didn't want to. Had I been in your shoes, I would have said I had a check-up I need to attend every few months. If that was the first your manager heard about your need for time off, then, bearing in mind the short notice, I don't think it was unreasonable of her to enquire how important the time off is - especially if the company has a policy for such things.

Without knowing what your job is and if others are impacted by a very short notice absense, it's difficult to assess how reasonable or unreasonable your manager was being.

If after saying you had an appointment she wanted more information, I would have been inclined to say that I didn't feel it was necessarily appropriate to discuss in the group situation, so could it be dealt with immediately after the meeting. That might have given you a little time to consider how you might have managed her.

 

[Brunneria]

Hi, and welcome to the forum.

Unfortunately, there are always managers who believe that their authority and higher pay scale entitles them to treat their subordinates as lesser human beings.

What the manager should have done was respect your reluctance and say, 'let's discuss this after the meeting'. Instead, they decided to push their authority rather than lose face in front of the other people in the meeting.

And unfortunately, even if you complain, and provide evidence that your absence had already been approved, then this kind of manager is exactly the kind who holds grudges and would make your life miserable.

But believe me, there are good managers out there, although sometimes you have to suffer a few plonkers before you find them.

Good luck with the job hunt. Please don't let this bad experience put you off. People are people, so there are good ones as well as bad - you will find that on the forum too!

 

[AndBreathe]

The sad, hard fact of the matter is that with 3 days service, the employer can finish a new employee for almost any reason. I'm unsure where disability puts that ability, but unless the OP has significant complications or is on "heavy treatments", it is questionable whether the DDA actually is effective anyway. And of course, where the employer didn't know the OP was diabetic, they could not know whether or not they needed to reasonably consider that when taking an action.

I think it's an unfortunate set of circumstances, handled apparently very badly. And of course, the Devil's Advocate in me makes me mention we only have one side to this story. It doesn't sound great though.

Good luck with the job search @kriss. Try to take heart from the fact that you managed to get one job, so there will be something out there with your name written all over it.