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Employee rights

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Annatheace

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Hi. Hoping for some advice. I eat once a day at 6pm. At around 5pm, I am ready to eat, but wait til 6. If it gets past 6pm, my sugars go low (for me) and I become weak and sweaty and shaky. For this reason, I make sure I am at home by 5.30pm and can prepare a low-carb meal.
Problem - my employer wants me to work until 5.30pm, then it takes an hour to get home. By then, I will be a complete mess.
Question - is a GP likely to provide a letter to excuse me working late? If so, how should I ask?
If it makes a difference, I was diagnosed t2 in Jan 2022, I have never taken meds. I control with diet/exercise. I have been OMAD over a year. My last hba1c was 44. Thanks.
 
Hi,

Are you saying your employer is asking you to work “overtime?”

In my experience working in a culture of these “expectations” when it conflicts with personal commitment balanced with the already agreed contracted & full attendance hours of work.

I’ve just said “no..”
 
Hi and welcome
I am not sure on the employee side of things but eating once a day is not alot of food so could you try a light low carb snack around 3 pm.
Just enough to last that extra wait?

Just a thought.

Good luck

Tony
 
Hi @Annatheace and welcome to the DCUK forums.

Congrats on successfully controlling your T2 with diet and exercise.

Is your employer asking you to work longer hours? If not, could you just start your day an hour later? (I appreciate other commitments may make that difficult). Otherwise like @Tony337 I'm wondering if a tiny pre-meal snack might keep you going?

If they are asking you to work longer hours I agree with @Jaylee , you should be able to say no....

Are you a member of a union? (Might be worth getting advice from them if you are).

As regards the actual question, I guess you could ask your GP...?

Good luck.
 
Hi, thank you. I appreciate your replies. And yes. I could just ask the gp, but getting an appointment is so hard, and I guess i wanted to know if such a letter is a thing, and if others have been successful.
My work has flexible hours. But now, my employer has said everyone must go on a rota to work until 5.30. I really do not want to. I went OMAD because having to bring compliant lunch was such an effort, it was easier to skip lunch. I would prefer not to snack.
I usually finish at around 4.30. Whilst it is only an hour, I already know I'm becoming weak at 5pm, there are occasions I fear I wont make it to the train. I have an hour commute home.
Also. If I am NOT on meds, is my diabetes still classed as a disability?
Thank you.
 
Hi @Annatheace

You will find info in this resource, regarding definition of disability and employment rights.

In answer to your question

If I am NOT on meds, is my diabetes still classed as a disability?

A disability under Equality Act 2010 is defined as

You’re disabled under the Equality Act 2010 if you have a physical or mental impairment that has a ‘substantial’ and ‘long-term’ negative effect on your ability to do normal daily activities.

It would appear to me that for your employer to consider this, you would need to present medical evidence of your condition, and how you need to treat it by restricting your diet.
 
Annatheace said:
Problem - my employer wants me to work until 5.30pm
Click to expand...
Hi @Annatheace have you discussed this with your employer?

In my experience they will usually bend over backwards to tell you what you need to do to comply with company policies in accordance with employment legislation. They may need you to get sick note from your GP to prove you have diabetes not to intrude on your privacy just to keep there paper work in order.

Its worth discussing, perhaps the discussion is all that your company needs to accommodate your health needs.
 
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I feel your pain. No one likes change. Some few of us accept it with glee, but most of us like the status quo. First of all, I believe your desire to control your type 2 by eating once a day, although an amazing commitment to holding the line on your illness, some might believe you are being a bit unrealistic. I don't think many folks in the medical field would state eating once a day would be ideal. I think the most realistic solution to your problem is to take an apple, cut it in half, stick it in a plastic bag and eat it sometime after noon and before 3 pm. This might be just enough to keep you going from 4:30 until 6 pm. Naturally the answers given by others on this post....getting a note from the doctor, talking to a union rep, and of course, speaking to your employer are all viable options, but it seems like doing the easiest thing first ie: eating a bit of something to stave off complete exhaustion and collapse just to shave a few points off the blood glucose meter would make more sense. I know this is a 'change' but sometimes a bit of change can repel problems. It is almost as if your "I must do it my way or the world will fall apart" is holding you back from achieving solutions to your problem. But hey, that is just my take. Good Luck

Edited by mods to conform with forum rules
 
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Hi, thanks again. Whilst everyone has noticed with varying levels of alarm that i do not eat - literally nothing but clear water - I am not sure many are aware that it is because I'm diabetic and fasting.
If the request for a gp letter is not ridiculous, I'll make an appointment. But I don't want to waste gp time and be laughed out of the surgery.
There's the chance I'll be ok, but I dread the thought, and want to avoid it if possible x
 
@Annatheace .
No patient should ever be treated as ridiculous, or laughed at. However, what you are asking for is support to have your well managed T 2 diabetes, classed as a disability. I think the GP could struggle with that definition, because it is not the diabetes, but your dietary choice that is an issue for you.

In such a situation I would be having a discussion with the employer to explain the situation. How frequently would the requirement to work an hour late occur? On those days would it be possible for me to move my mealtime a bit later?

When I have used the One Meal a Day fasting method I didn’t feel ill or hungry, because my body shifted into ketoisis. It would have been possible to move my mealtime , incrementally, by 10 minutes a day until it was the hour later. For a job I loved, and a considerate employer I would compromise, and be flexible. If it was an employer that was less amenable or the job was not that interesting or important to me, I wouldn’t have stuck around.
 
Type2 is not covered as a disability under the Equality Act if you do not take insulin or meds
 
I'm T1 so OMAD feels alien to me, so forgive me if I am not sensitive to the reasons or cballenegss. However, if a single hour in your eating time causes you to experience weakness and feintness etc and you would become a mess, then there are potentially other issues at stake here. For example, what if your 1 hour journey home becomes 2hrs because of an accident or there's the wrong type of leaves on a train track etc. One should always keep something to hand to cope with the unknown and if you are not doing that, and have a limited window to get home and take corrective measure, then I would suggest you are putting youtself at a potential risk.

Preparing a compliant meal to have at hand may feel. Inconvenient and a bother, but it is prudent for the reasons above, but also now because you are being asked to work slightly longer.

I would suggest that the benefit outweighs the bother, but then I am not in your shoes and don't have your lived experience, so forgive me if I have presumed too much.

I do wish you well and hope you find a manageable compromise with your emoyer that keeps you healthy and safe.
 
I’m maybe a bit late to the party, but does your GP surgery have e-consult? A lot of doctors do now. You could put your request in via that on your gps website and they will either issue the letter or contact to say they can’t. I know it’s not exactly the same but I had sick notes issued this way for me.
 
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