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Type 1 Work issue

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Nometype1andproud

Well-Known Member
Today I have been called aside by my manager and told that someone in my office is squeamish and cannot cope with me testing my blood sugar and injecting at my desk . I have been asked to leave the room to do this I got very upset and cried in front of my manager as I feel like I am being made to feel like a leper. I’m very discreet always no one would even know what I was doing unless they sat watching me. I have also been asked to refrain from testing and injection at the lunch table in the kitchen at work again I don’t see why I should change I’m the one with the medical condition. I feel like the person who is squeamish should have their dinner at a different time if they have such a problem with it. I’m also getting a pump tomorrow so will be doing a lot more tests.

People’s thoughts on this please?
 

Would they tell a person in a wheelchair to kindly go and sit somewhere else because of someone's sensitivities or a person with a facial abnormality or indeed any other person with a condition that comes under the Act? No they would not and as far as I am concerned they are discriminating against you for NO logical reason. If this person doesn't like you injecting or doing your (discreet) testing then they can get lost and go and sit somewhere else. These actions are keeping you alive and type 1 comes under the disability act which I am sure you know. Stick to your guns and REFUSE to leave the room, see what they do then! I know I sound a little militant but this makes me so mad, the fact that you are being made to feel unclean. Speak to your HR if you have one, your 'Manager' sounds ignorant. x
 

Thank you for your reply I feel exactly the same, I’m fuming and am pretty certain they cannot stop me doing it at my own desk, yes then can ask but I can just as easily say no. I will also suggest the other person changes their dinner time if they can’t cope with it after all I’m the one who needs to eat when I need to eat
 

Also, do you have an HR dept?, if so they (or someone with responsibility for you) should produce a written 'reasonable adjustment' plan, that can incorporate how you are going to manage your diabetes, ie what you should do if feeling low, etc. Next time your Manager talks to you about it, mention this and the law as well, it stops them coming out with ludicrous statements and actions. Of course none of us want to be funny just for the sake of it and I am all for give and take but this is plain wrong. x
 
That’s pretty shocking I’m very lucky with my colleagues and work, I do test and inject at my desk and have had to explain to chairs of meetings why I have my test kit with me if it’s a particularly long meeting. I found that having occupational health on board to help with reasonable adjustments was quite useful actually so that is a great suggestion
 
Nometype1andproud said:
I’m also getting a pump tomorrow so will be doing a lot more tests.
Click to expand...

Well, tell your manager this and point out this means that you won't be injecting any more, you'll just be fiddling with your pump controls. Maybe they'd like to pay for a cgm so that you don't have to do blood tests so often, and that would cater for your colleague's disability aka needle phobia. (I guess they'd better hope that they never become T1 because then they'd have to cope with injecting and testing themselves.)

I got the same lecture at my second job over 30 years ago. Admittedly I wasn't being particularly discreet about my injecting, but I remember feeling devastated by the criticism. I talked to my immediate colleagues and they were all fine with it, so I never really found out what the issue was.

How well do you get on with the folk in your workspace? I'd be tempted to let them know how you feel. I suspect that the objector might be doing so out of ignorance rather than malice. But people do have phobias about all sorts of things (spiders ugh) so try to be sympathetic to them. But it's their problem, not yours.

Good luck.
 
That's appalling !! If you were asthmatic you would use your inhaler, do your colleagues know that if you don't manage your condition appropriately that you could die ?

The consequences of not managing your condition are serious and your employer has a duty of care to allow you to manage your condition in the workplace, disability discrimination act, please feel free to quote this.

I agree with Ellie, it's generally due to ignorance that these issues arise so put your foot down, educate, and stand your ground.
 
I believe this situation would be adequately covered in the UK with the "Disability Discrimination Act" an employer who fails to make "reasonable adjustments" would clearly be in breach of this. Dependant on the size of the company/unit you are employed at its hard to accurately work out "reasonable adjustments" without a discussion between yourself and your employer, if this happens ALWAYS ensure you have a colleague or union official there to support you and ensure you don't get "railroaded" into things.
 
Unfortunately This is not that uncommon, I was testing my BG's at a local restaurant, we were at a table near the back and had ordered our meal when a waitress came over and told me fairly rudely that if I wanted to "Do that, I should do it in the toilet". I didn't we cancelled our order and left.
Technically your situation at work could be classed as discrimination, if you are a member of a union, contact your union rep, failing that contact a solicitor. What happens if you have a hypo? Are you supposed to stagger somewhere just so you don't upset your colleague?
 
This happened to me at work in an office but about 20 years ago now. I didnt really know what rights, if any, applied then. I had nowhere else to go so had to do it all in the toilets.
 
Unless you're being really in your face there's no reason anyone should have noticed. It sounds like they saw it once took offence and then started deliberately watching. I sat next to a colleague for years and only told him I had type 1 when he became my LM. He hadn't noticed a thing. That included a pregnancy with heavy testing as well as injections.

I would suggest laying out your request in writing to get it clear in your head and emphasise

It's a discrete but medically essential activity.
It cannot be done in a toilet as it's unsanitary and medically dangerous.
Explain how many tests are required each day and when
Explain the thought process you need to undergo to eat anything (How much carb, what's my b.s., do I inject, how much, how long before I can eat)
To leave your desk each time you want a quick snack or do a routine check is disruptive, unproductive, and distressing as it makes you feel different.
The fact somebody is raising this (and only 1) suggests an issue with 1 person. (You now know lots of virtual people who manage this at work!).
There is a duty to make reasonable adjustments for a disability and type 1 is a defined one.
Instead of that you are feeling victimised for being disabled.....
You're sure this can be easily resolved by you testing discretely at your desk and the other person moving desks if they're next to you.

It may be worth a call to ACAS too. They're very helpful.

Good luck!
 
Write it up so you can send after and do take someone with. It's an emotional subject for most of us.
 
Where do they expect you to test and inject? In the lav? They should provide a private clean environment for you then, or maybe you should complain about the person staring at you while you test and inject.
 
In the states, many companies have "Mother Rooms", places where new mothers can take care of personal things. One solution would be that Diabetics could take advantage of them as well. It is a reasonable accommodation. People need to understand that blood sugar testing is a critical part of managing diabetes. Management needs to figure out how to deal with this.

Concerning the person who made the complaint, I have thoughts on what I could say, but this is a public forum and it would not be appropriate to respond. My point is that companies have private rooms for mothers why can't they be used? Bring that up to your HR people. Good management would come up with this on their own.
 

I've had T1 since I was two and a bit and am now 63 and still working. I've come across this a few times and generally in the early days stood up, went to the back of the room and turned my back while I did my test/injection making people aware of what I was doing. Since the Disability Act has covered us I say, "Just turn away a moment - I need it," Everyone else nods. And that's it. It happens very rarely nowadays - people are just unaware and don't know what it's like.
 
It’s the 2010 Equalities Act that covers this.
 
To be honest, whilst I see your point, if someone is feeling hypo, walking to the ‘mothers room’ to test could be the difference between them treating the hypo properly or passing out, having a seizure or any number of other things,
If you need to test, you need to test, not be forced out of the room and made to feel dirty. Maybe say that you’re about to test and if anyone can’t cope THEY can leave the room.
 
I would have to point out that I have a medical condition that is covered by the 2010 Equality Act and that if the person is that squeamish it might be best that they either stop looking at you all the time or maybe change where they sit in the office.
Your employer cannot demand you leave the room to test, say for example you suddenly feel hypo, getting up and walking to leave the room could make you pass out, or worse.
No, you need to be able to test as much as you need. And when you need. And your employer needs to understand this isn’t about you being stroppy it’s a medical necessity. Maybe let them know what the consequences of not testing in the event of low blood sugars could be and ask how Mr/Mrs Squeamish might feel if you passed out in front of them.
 
They have the problem not you, if they don't like it or/and are squeamish, the manager should have said to the person then don't watch, I have been many types of manager and this is what I would have said, go back to your supposed manager and inform him of the various acts that apply to you, especially discrimination in the work place, good luck
 
 
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