HELP - Job related issue

[LadyA]

Hi there,

Having problems with my boss, well who doesn't :lol: . I'm T2 tablet and diet controlled and I'm quite proud of the fact that to date I have only had 1 day off sick this year and only 2 last year. On Thursday last week I felt really ill and put it down to the weather, but as the day wore on I felt I had to leave early by a couple of hours. His reply was OK, but you will have to make the time up :roll: , the cheek of it. Anyway I subsequently had Friday off as well and I'm still off now. My GP says I have a viral infection and due to BG fluctuating its just taking a little longer to get over. I can just imagine what he will say when I go back. I have also asked for my hours to be changed as I find it hard to start the times I have been over the last two years and he wont accommodate me. I'm at a loss of what to do. I feel the only option with a boss who just does not understand the nature of Diabetes, is to find something else. I have tried to explain my needs but it goes in one ear and out the other. HELP...where do I stand before I get annoyed and walk out :x

 

[carty]

Sorry I dont know the answer but I do know that walking out is not the answer you would be playing into your bosses hand .Hang in there and get advice C.A.B.probably would help you they know which profesional bodies to send you to.Maybe some one here will be along soon in the mean time chin up
CAROL

 

[Dollyrocker]

I have also asked for my hours to be changed as I find it hard to start the times I have been over the last two years

I'm a bit confused, what does that have to do with the diabetes or is it a separate issue?

He was a bit mardy to make you sweat over leaving a couple of hours early, for sure. i'd be inclined to get a doctors note for when you go back just so that he can't make a fuss.

Your boss can't fire you for being diabetic, there are laws against that but I would be very careful about blaming any illness/work issues on the diabetes by default

 

[LadyA]

Thanks for all the reply's, I think I will seek some legal advice as hes funny about me even coming off the phones ( I'm in customer services) to check my BG or going to make a cup of tea to have with a snack. I will keep everyone posted on my progress, once I have some advice. Many thanks to all.

 

[chrissieworne]

Hi Lady A

Not sure if you know but Diabetes is covered under the Disability Discrimination Act. How big is the company you work for? I had a few issues with my boss when I first had my T2 diagnosis and felt very unwell.

I work front line with the public for local government nand it is a very stressful job. However a risk assessment has been done and it has been agreed I can have a tea break am and pm as well as a lunch break, I am allowed to have a drink and a snack in my drawer and can test when I need to (in between customers or coming off phone) if I feel woosy (hyper) or shaky (hypo) I just take whatever time I need till I feel better. Obiously I am careful not to take the mickey !!

I was also allowed to take paid time off for all the visits and checks last yr when I was diagnosed.

At first the attitude was "well its only type 2 and its not as though you have to inject!!" (i am on tablets) but with time and my GP's support they came round.

I hope you get this sorted because stress is not good for you. Mind you I was careful not to give them the idea I couldn't cope with the job BECAUSE of the Diabetes, just that they needed to be reasonable and responsible employers as with any other employee who has a condition or disability.

Good luck, you are entitled to a risk assessment as the first aiders etc need to know what to do and what NOT to do if you are taken ill.

Best of luck,

Chrissie

 

[fliss]

Chrissie

thank you for the above post, I m not diabetic (yet) I have reactive hypoglycemia and get hypo's frequestly, would the risk assesment apply to me as well. My employer is very good with me. !!

 

[cricketer]

Sounds like your using your Type 2 Diabetes as an excuse to me... just be glad you dont have type 1

 

[Shiny]

I cant believe your answer cricketer...I am a type 2 who has to inject....type 2 is in fact as serious as type one...the difference being we were not born it and aquired it later in life.

mine is genetic and i was bound to get it sooner or later..and yes maybe my life style did contribute to it but you dont think about stuff like that when your young...and I didnt expect to get septacemia from a botched proceedure that pushed my body in to full blown diabetes....

The symptoms are the same and everyone one copes or is affected to different degrees...i'm sick to death of hearing well type 2 is not the same as 1....yes it is..we still feel awful we still get depressed and angry at having our life style taken away from us we still could die if we go into a coma..not to mention dealing with our employers ignorance and refusal to give us basic human rights and empathy...and from comments like that... :x

The DDA covers ALL diabetics...go through your companies complaints proceedure and go by the book...they have a LEGAL right to help you and will be discrimating against you if they dont take resonable steps to accomodate you.

I am having a pig of a time with my new manager as my doc insisted I give up nights and come back on to days..so far she has done her best to make my life hell..i know how it feels and it robs you of your power and your ability to stick up for yourself and it shouldnt have to..

I didnt choose this illness I got it and am now on the maximum dose of insulin they can safely give me..i stuck to the diet i lost most of the weight and still I have to inject and my blood sugars are still unstable but better than they were... still I come up against brick walls that I have to smash down...one of those being my employers ignorance of my basic human right to have the time to manage my condition and to have time off to deal with it...and the hours to work that are fair and allow me to take breaks and food when needed...so maybe i'm not type 1 like you....but I still inject and we are still entitled to our rights even if we are type 2.

Shiny x

 

[badmedisin]

Sounds like your using your Type 2 Diabetes as an excuse to me... just be glad you dont have type 1

That's a really nasty and ignorant thing to say.
I've had type 1 for 23 years, and I think of myself as lucky not to have type 2. To me, it looks like it's harder to manage. At least if I want to eat something I can just count the carbs and do the right amount of insulin for it. If I was type 2 I'd have to be a lot stricter about my diet and give up cake, not to mention all the other medications I might have to take. Type 2s face all the same complications as we do, and it seems to be much harder to get the necessary help from doctors.

If you read some of the posts from type 2s on here, you'll see it's just as serious a problem as type 1, and in some cases more so.

For example, do you have any idea how hard it is for some type 2s to get hold of blood testing strips, in a health care system that maintains they don't need to test because "it will make them depressed"?

Yes, type 2 is different from type 1. But it's not any easier, so please don't come on here and belittle other people's problems. That's not what the forum is for.