I work in a childrens day nursery, have worked there for 14yrs with the 0 -2 age group, obviously this involves lifting and some toddlers are quite heavy.
15 years ago i had a lifting injury in my arm called Compartment Syndrome…it is quite rare in a arm and basiclly what happened is the swellling, bleeding internally in compartment of the arm cuts of blood supply thus resulting in no radial pulse and no movement in hand/fingers…if the condition isn’t operated on successfully it could of resulted in the loss of my arm. , or worse case senario death…anyway this condition is more likely to occur in the back or legs as a resul of lifting.
i returned to work after my BC treatments in nov., 04…last year i hurt my back at work but it only lasted a few days.
this week i’ve hurt my back at work again, GP says its from lifting its still not right now, and obviously my concern is that i will have compartment syndrome in my back.
Am i able to ask my employer if i can work with the older age group 2-5 who don’t need lifting? if i do this is are they within their rights to say as i am not able to work in usual position then i don’t have a job?
its not a big company, small nursery employing about 10 people.
Yes definitely because although you’re not registered as ‘disabled’ you are protected under the Disability Discrimination Act which means that employers have to look into ‘reasonable’ adjustments within the workplace for anybody who has had a diagnosis of cancer (this was introduced in 2004 I think and also covers people who have HIV and MS to protect against discrimination within the workplace, education and housing).
Do they have an HR person? If it’s a small company there might not be but if you look on the website at pointofdiagnosis it will give you a lot more info.
hope you don’t mind me joining in. ACAS might be able to help they have a website and are a government organisation and their phone number is 08457 474747 they deal with employment law.
Hi Karen
Under DDA your employer is expected to make " Reasonable adjustments" to enable you to continue in your job. I would think that moving to work with an older group would be considered to be a “reasonable adjustment”.
Thanks for your replies ladies…yes Bunnymum you would hope loyalty would count for something…but I’m not convinced its going to.
Went into work on Thursday…said i’d go in if i could work with older children that day…employer came in and asked ‘’ hows your back’'…told her GP said lifting injury etc.,… her reply ‘’ do you think it’ll get better? perhaps you shouldn’t work in a nursery ‘’…!!!
Well going into tomorrow…back still iffy…and going to ask if possible to move to older group permenantly…can’t help thinking employers not going to be helpful though!!
I have found the people at the Disability Rights Commission to be very helpful. Helpline: 08457 622 633
I work for a very small Vet practice and sometimes find the head vet to be a tad bit unhelpful at times. I called the DRC and felt a lot more confident about my rights and what I should expect from my employers.
Well ladies asked the question…and employer said how long would i need to work with older children for…told her until back as 100%…she said that might be never…but has reluctantly i feel, agreed for the time being.
I have had a few run ins with my employers since I was dx and they are a large company.
I would suggest that you get a letter from your GP confirming that it would be beneficial for you to work with the older age group until such time as your back has improved to allow you to lift the young ones again, then provide that to your employer. If that does not convince them you can advise them that your GP is in agreement with your working with an older age group until such time as your back problem has improved and therefore hey cannot discriminate against you.
Hopefully it will not come to these sort of comments but it is surprising how often you have to put employers right on the actual employment laws.
Ladies - may I suggest you contact your local CAB or any welfare rights group - also feed into Google for info about Employment rights during Sickness etc. Gov. sites very informative.
Deffo worth a couple of phone calls to both the Disability Rights and ACAS if you find they are being difficult.
I won’t go into too much detail here, but 2 years ago now, I was sacked just weeks before returning to work following 9 months of treatment and found them invaluable. With their help we went down a tribunal route and they settled before it got anywhere near court. (My case seemed to be unusual - we had a straightforward illegal sacking under employment law and also under the Disability Rights Act. In fact, so unusual I had a phone call from the DRA press office about 5 months or so after, asking if I would be interviewed for BBC news for an article about employers and women with breast cancer and this very problem).
I have to say by then, despite their promise of anonimity, it would have involved an interview in the studio and I wasn’t convinced it would be that difficult to guess who I was if you watched it and knew me and my employer (a Charity!!!) - I’d had enough and had also as part of the settlement signed an agreement through solicitors not to speak about the settlement.
I’m not saying you will be sacked, by the way! But it’s right they have to help you adjust and this is where the advice of the Disability Right and ACAS is invaluable. At least having spoken to them anyway you will know what you can ask for.
hi, just joined, but i work for local authority, and as i do 12 day and night shift i have asked to be able to swap some of my nights as i just get too tired, i am seeking the help of my OH as my line manager is not too helpful, i have also been in touch with DDA and they are great with advice,