Drawn in-Chewed up-Spat out.

[colmc555]

After previous good advice , I once again am at a dead end.I work as a recovery/breakdown truck driver and have been getting ill a lot recently.After losing contracts at my work we have lost some staff members but our workload for some reason has increased.I work 12 days on and 2 off , 9 hour shifts , but as we are busy most days ,it becomes 12 hour shifts plus on call at night.
I have also had issues getting protective equipment from my work,as a result i have been working in wet, freezing conditions with a pair of overalls to protect me, as a result i have had heavy colds and constant flare ups of IBS and diverticulitis(i have previously had part of my bowel removed as a result of this ).My doctor thinks my body is just really run down because of the conditions i have been working under all winter.
I am not the type of guy to complain but my wife forced me into doing something about it.I got a fit note from my doctor saying i would benefit from reduced hours ie no overtime and no on call for 4 weeks to try and let my body rest.
I had to take a couple of days off last week as i had a really bad cold and felt really run down .The previous week i had seen a box of equipment delivered,( i open up the workshop in the mornings and had a wee nosey around) and was told by a couple of people that the waterproofs were in.I asked on Friday if i could get some as it was to be a wet and cold weekend,I was told by the wksp manager and storeman they hadn't arrived yet,so I worked all weekend getting soaked and ended up monday morning with a nasty cold.I told the storeman i was making a complaint and miraculously the equipment arrived an hour later.
On my return to work people were acting a bit strange .and I had a meeting with the managing director to explain the situation regarding my health,I had taken advice from my doctor and an occupational health nurse beforehand.I told him i was really struggling to control my diabetes and had been ill a lot with other things related to it.I told him it was because of the long hours(93 one week) and the lack of equipment,I was expecting him to discuss how we could sort it out as all the guys in the department were finding it too hard also,WRONG...He went, ballistic blaming me for not following company procedures regarding equipment ,although i did...twice...and said as i was not able to do overtime and on call that i was no use to him and told me he was sending me home.
After a heated discussion where he told me that his company handbook over rules Health and Safety laws ,and me telling him i was fit to do my job,just needed a bit of time for rest we agreed to me working this week and reviewing it next week.The way he put it ,if i am not back to doing overtime etc from next week then I am no good to him and basically he would have to let me go.
I looked into this and I read that my employer should make reasonable adjustments short term if my health suffering,but long term and if it affects his business then he can "let me go"
I have always been a hard worker and have only previously had 1 day off sick in the past 2 and a half years,I have given up my days off to help out recovery and other departments when they were busy and have often went in at all hours after a phone call on my time off.
I have spoken to DVSA regarding my hours and as we lost the contract to do the police work ,we are no longer exempt from certain laws regarding hours and rest etc,and that now if i work a minute over 11 hours a day then i am breaking the law.I am working under GB domestic rules as opposed to Working time directive and the rules are slightly different for me.It turns out we have been breaking the law on our working hours for a while but as the rules are very confusing we were not fully aware of this.
I really don't want to have to take this matter further as i don't have the strength just now for a battle,I have been looking for another job also but nothing has come up yet so i am stuck here for now,I cannot afford to take any more time off sick but i know if i tell my boss next week that i still need more time to recover he will send me home sick.I am meant to have 2 weeks holiday at the end of next week but if i am sent home sick I wont get paid for them.
I feel like my work has hired me , run me into the ground,and now they want rid of me,at no point has anyone asked how i am feeling ,all they want to know is how much longer this will take.A little birdy told me they overheard management saying basically that am now useless and just to get shot of me,but he wont make a statement on this because of his position in the company.
I cant afford a lawyer as my wife and i have spent all our savings on treatment to enable us to have a child.I am on anti depressants too as i feel run down and miserable all the time.
Sorry for this being long winded , I was advised to do this by a good friend of mine,so I dont know if there is anyone out there with legal knowledge on this that could maybe give me 5 minutes free advice..I am stuck here and just really dont know how to get out of it.
Thanks for taking the time to read...

 

[DeejayR]

Hi, sorry to hear this. It isn't fair, it isn't right, it probably isn't legal but it's happening. Whatever legal battle you face (someone else can no doubt advise) it doesn't sound as if you're up to it. It's a long hard road to justice and you end up with the right to a job you don't want any more.
Ultimately your health comes first and if it were me I'd be talking to my wife to plan a way out of a job like that before it killed me. In fact I did just that 15 years ago and got a couple of enjoyable part-time jobs instead.
You can really do without this aggro and you don't deserve it.
Good luck with whatever turns up for you.
Er, we're pretty good at helping with diabetes, if that's any use to you ....

 

[AndBreathe]

After previous good advice , I once again am at a dead end.I work as a recovery/breakdown truck driver and have been getting ill a lot recently.After losing contracts at my work we have lost some staff members but our workload for some reason has increased.I work 12 days on and 2 off , 9 hour shifts , but as we are busy most days ,it becomes 12 hour shifts plus on call at night.
I have also had issues getting protective equipment from my work,as a result i have been working in wet, freezing conditions with a pair of overalls to protect me, as a result i have had heavy colds and constant flare ups of IBS and diverticulitis(i have previously had part of my bowel removed as a result of this ).My doctor thinks my body is just really run down because of the conditions i have been working under all winter.
I am not the type of guy to complain but my wife forced me into doing something about it.I got a fit note from my doctor saying i would benefit from reduced hours ie no overtime and no on call for 4 weeks to try and let my body rest.
I had to take a couple of days off last week as i had a really bad cold and felt really run down .The previous week i had seen a box of equipment delivered,( i open up the workshop in the mornings and had a wee nosey around) and was told by a couple of people that the waterproofs were in.I asked on Friday if i could get some as it was to be a wet and cold weekend,I was told by the wksp manager and storeman they hadn't arrived yet,so I worked all weekend getting soaked and ended up monday morning with a nasty cold.I told the storeman i was making a complaint and miraculously the equipment arrived an hour later.
On my return to work people were acting a bit strange .and I had a meeting with the managing director to explain the situation regarding my health,I had taken advice from my doctor and an occupational health nurse beforehand.I told him i was really struggling to control my diabetes and had been ill a lot with other things related to it.I told him it was because of the long hours(93 one week) and the lack of equipment,I was expecting him to discuss how we could sort it out as all the guys in the department were finding it too hard also,WRONG...He went, ballistic blaming me for not following company procedures regarding equipment ,although i did...twice...and said as i was not able to do overtime and on call that i was no use to him and told me he was sending me home.
After a heated discussion where he told me that his company handbook over rules Health and Safety laws ,and me telling him i was fit to do my job,just needed a bit of time for rest we agreed to me working this week and reviewing it next week.The way he put it ,if i am not back to doing overtime etc from next week then I am no good to him and basically he would have to let me go.
I looked into this and I read that my employer should make reasonable adjustments short term if my health suffering,but long term and if it affects his business then he can "let me go"
I have always been a hard worker and have only previously had 1 day off sick in the past 2 and a half years,I have given up my days off to help out recovery and other departments when they were busy and have often went in at all hours after a phone call on my time off.
I have spoken to DVSA regarding my hours and as we lost the contract to do the police work ,we are no longer exempt from certain laws regarding hours and rest etc,and that now if i work a minute over 11 hours a day then i am breaking the law.I am working under GB domestic rules as opposed to Working time directive and the rules are slightly different for me.It turns out we have been breaking the law on our working hours for a while but as the rules are very confusing we were not fully aware of this.
I really don't want to have to take this matter further as i don't have the strength just now for a battle,I have been looking for another job also but nothing has come up yet so i am stuck here for now,I cannot afford to take any more time off sick but i know if i tell my boss next week that i still need more time to recover he will send me home sick.I am meant to have 2 weeks holiday at the end of next week but if i am sent home sick I wont get paid for them.
I feel like my work has hired me , run me into the ground,and now they want rid of me,at no point has anyone asked how i am feeling ,all they want to know is how much longer this will take.A little birdy told me they overheard management saying basically that am now useless and just to get shot of me,but he wont make a statement on this because of his position in the company.
I cant afford a lawyer as my wife and i have spent all our savings on treatment to enable us to have a child.I am on anti depressants too as i feel run down and miserable all the time.
Sorry for this being long winded , I was advised to do this by a good friend of mine,so I dont know if there is anyone out there with legal knowledge on this that could maybe give me 5 minutes free advice..I am stuck here and just really dont know how to get out of it.
Thanks for taking the time to read...

I would suggest you contact your Union, if you are a member of one, and failing that ACAS could be useful.

Alternatively, chech your household insurance for legal cover. You might just fall lucky.

Good luck with it all.

 

[colmc555]

Hi, sorry to hear this. It isn't fair, it isn't right, it probably isn't legal but it's happening. Whatever legal battle you face (someone else can no doubt advise) it doesn't sound as if you're up to it. It's a long hard road to justice and you end up with the right to a job you don't want any more.
Ultimately your health comes first and if it were me I'd be talking to my wife to plan a way out of a job like that before it killed me. In fact I did just that 15 years ago and got a couple of enjoyable part-time jobs instead.
You can really do without this aggro and you don't deserve it.
Good luck with whatever turns up for you.
Er, we're pretty good at helping with diabetes, if that's any use to you ....

Sorry forgot the most important part..I was diagnosed type 2 around 5 years ago.
I struggled to start with and after good advice i demanded to see a specialist,who,after some tinkering found the right mix of tablets and things were fine up till recently.
I have been feeling tired all the time, dry mouth,pee-ing all the time( including slightly wetting myself a couple of times), i have lost over half a stone in weight , previously i lost nearly 4 stone, and now i am medically underweight, and feel like am losing the battle with diabetes too.
This has all coincided with everything going on at my work

 

[JTL]

Sounds to me like that job will kill you.
Maybe kill me too because a truck driver doing 90 hours a week cannot be safe and cannot be legal.
The conditions sound appalling!
You need to get this company reported somehow with no comeback on you.
The peeing yourself could be neuropathic bladder .... damaged nerves from dibates.
Are you eating correctly and testing bloods everyday?

 

[Natalie1974]

Sorry forgot the most important part..I was diagnosed type 2 around 5 years ago.
I struggled to start with and after good advice i demanded to see a specialist,who,after some tinkering found the right mix of tablets and things were fine up till recently.
I have been feeling tired all the time, dry mouth,pee-ing all the time( including slightly wetting myself a couple of times), i have lost over half a stone in weight , previously i lost nearly 4 stone, and now i am medically underweight, and feel like am losing the battle with diabetes too.
This has all coincided with everything going on at my work

Have you checked for ketones? These symptoms would seem to be fairly typical of ketones...correct me if I'm wrong

 

[AndBreathe]

Sorry forgot the most important part..I was diagnosed type 2 around 5 years ago.
I struggled to start with and after good advice i demanded to see a specialist,who,after some tinkering found the right mix of tablets and things were fine up till recently.
I have been feeling tired all the time, dry mouth,pee-ing all the time( including slightly wetting myself a couple of times), i have lost over half a stone in weight , previously i lost nearly 4 stone, and now i am medically underweight, and feel like am losing the battle with diabetes too.
This has all coincided with everything going on at my work

What are your bloods like, with these symptoms? Has your doctor followed up on those?

 

[colmc555]

What are your bloods like, with these symptoms? Has your doctor followed up on those?

My bloods have been a bit erratic but so has my eating times,due to my job i cant always eat at the correct times and i can be out from early morning to late night and as much as i try to avoid it i sometimes have to stop and get food from the 1st place i see,which is not always healthy.My doctor thinks that once i have had time to give my body a rest things should settle down,I am beginning to see signs of this now, however my boss has said that although i have a fit note to give me rest ,if i am not back to doing all duties by monday he is going to send me home sick and look at repacing me.

 

[colmc555]

Sounds to me like that job will kill you.
Maybe kill me too because a truck driver doing 90 hours a week cannot be safe and cannot be legal.
The conditions sound appalling!
You need to get this company reported somehow with no comeback on you.
The peeing yourself could be neuropathic bladder .... damaged nerves from dibates.
Are you eating correctly and testing bloods everyday?

I try to eat correctly but sometimes i have no choice.i altered my shifts a couple of months ago so i could get home , eat a proper dinner then be available for on call, but most days i am out till late at night and only access to food i have is takeaway which i try to avoid.my bloods are settling down a wee bit now thanks to being able to get some rest and recuperation.

 

[colmc555]

Have you checked for ketones? These symptoms would seem to be fairly typical of ketones...correct me if I'm wrong

Am not sure,how do you check for ketones? my previous thread on here was to do with the fact my doctor has been useless and seems ignorant with diabetes, its a case of try this, nope, then try that.i have taught myself all i know but still in the dark about alot of things .

 

[colmc555]

Sounds to me like that job will kill you.
Maybe kill me too because a truck driver doing 90 hours a week cannot be safe and cannot be legal.
The conditions sound appalling!
You need to get this company reported somehow with no comeback on you.
The peeing yourself could be neuropathic bladder .... damaged nerves from dibates.
Are you eating correctly and testing bloods everyday?

My company uses every loophole they can find to bend and break the law.There is an exemption to driving rules if you do work for the police , which we did till recently,but not now.I have since found out that it was only police jobs that were exempt and not because we had the contract as my boss told us.I have spoken to DVSA and read up alot and now everything i do is within the law , hence the reason my truck is still in the wksp getting fixed as i refused to drive it this morning cos i had a tail light out.....They were not happy and have accused me of being twisted and of trying to cause trouble.

 

[colmc555]

I would suggest you contact your Union, if you are a member of one, and failing that ACAS could be useful.

Alternatively, chech your household insurance for legal cover. You might just fall lucky.

Good luck with it all.

Thank you but not in a union , acas advised me to contact health and safety , which i did but my boss thinks his company policy over rules health and safety laws so therefore i abide by company policy,not health and safety.Neither acas nor health and safety would tell me where i stand legally but only to approach my boss informally which i tried to no success.
He is a law unto himself.

 

[Natalie1974]

Am not sure,how do you check for ketones? my previous thread on here was to do with the fact my doctor has been useless and seems ignorant with diabetes, its a case of try this, nope, then try that.i have taught myself all i know but still in the dark about alot of things .

You can buy ketostix over the counter in the chemist...but may be worth asking your doctor to do a test for you. Ketones tend to kick in when your blood sugar gets really high...usually through lack of insulin or infection...but if you're testing regularly and BS is within normal range then it's unlikely.

Maybe ask if you can see another doctor within your practice...it sounds like you need some expert advice.

 

[JTL]

Thank you but not in a union , acas advised me to contact health and safety , which i did but my boss thinks his company policy over rules health and safety laws so therefore i abide by company policy,not health and safety.Neither acas nor health and safety would tell me where i stand legally but only to approach my boss informally which i tried to no success.
He is a law unto himself.

I feel for you mate.
It's disgusting that there are employers like that around in this day and age.
There seem to be more and more of them in fact.
For wanting what's right you'll probably be turfed out at some point.

 

[DeejayR]

If you continue to work there you're in a weak position in all respects. You have no support. Citizen's Advice might come up with something. It's a bit of a lottery but sometimes you find a red-hot QC putting something back into the community after retirement. Constructive dismissal would be the charge I would think at an employment tribunal.
Anyway, away from work you could focus on your health and organise a programme of recovery.

 

[CollieBoy]

As t looks like your boss "has it in for you", a bit of covert "tit for tat" may be appropriate if you get canned.
At these hours, your companies tachographs must be showing well over hours so an anonymous call to the authorities would trigger a check and your firm & boss "in the brown & sticky"

 

[Natalie1974]

Don't know if you've seen this...there is a fair amount of information on Diabetes UK site in relation to employment...if you've done seen this already...it might be worth checking out.

http://www.diabetes.co.uk/diabetes-and-discrimination.html

It's not a route that anyone really want's to go down but it's still worth knowing your rights...

 

[colmc555]

As t looks like your boss "has it in for you", a bit of covert "tit for tat" may be appropriate if you get canned.
At these hours, your companies tachographs must be showing well over hours so an anonymous call to the authorities would trigger a check and your firm & boss "in the brown & sticky"

Unfortunately we are tacho exempt......but the tit for tat may have already started

 

[colmc555]

Don't know if you've seen this...there is a fair amount of information on Diabetes UK site in relation to employment...if you've done seen this already...it might be worth checking out.

http://www.diabetes.co.uk/diabetes-and-discrimination.html

It's not a route that anyone really want's to go down but it's still worth knowing your rights...

havent seen it but gonna have a look now, this is the kind of thing I've been looking for ,just wanna know where i stand ty

 

[Spencer67]

Don't let them exploit you, don't let them over work you either, if you give these people an inch they take a mile. you have many rights we are not here to be abused by employers then thrown on the scrap heap, fight your corner and get the union behind you. Those hours you do for a diabetic are too long, those hours for any one are too long.