Discrimination at my work?

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xX_LittleMissValentine_Xx

xX_LittleMissValentine_Xx

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Ok so I have been working at a highstreet jewlers for 6 months now. I work there part time, only Sundays as I am also going to college and doing my A levels. For the whole time I been working there I have been in remission and only now (and maybe a month previously) I have been starting to get my symptoms back.
I told them at my interview that I have CD so they have known since day 1.
Last week I felt too ill to go to work so i called in sick. This is only the second time i hace called in sick to work. (the first time was due to a sickness bug). I rang them on sat to say that i wouldn't be in to give them plenty of notice incase they needed to replace me. The maneger asked me what was wrong. I said it was my crohns and i was very tired. She didn't give me much time to go on and told me i should get a good nights sleep and ring them in the morning if i still felt bad. (i wish a good nights sleep would have sorted it out!!)
The next day i had diroeah so i rang them up and said i wasn't coming in.
Today I went to work (still exausted and with a bad tummy but no dioreah) I had my 'return to work interview' and ended up with a fat lecture about how I only work sundays and need to make more of an effort to come in. How my absence was 11% and that this was 'a very serious matter'. So now i am in trouble and being watched and if i have another day off in the next three months i will get my first warning. What if in two weeks time i am even worse and can't come in? what if this keeps happening? I will loose my job.
At the time i just nodded and said all the right things.
On my way home i was thinking. I have a life long chronic, unpredictable illnesses. There are times when i simply cannot come into work. Surely they cannot do this, I cannot get into trouble over a part of my life i cannot control. Is this direct discrimination?
Someone please tell me about my rights and what i should do next.
Last week i realised they clearly did not have a clue about crohn's so today i gave them the NACC guide to employers, which i hope they will read.
Thank you for reading. As you can probably guess i am very angry about this. I also cryed during this interview as well.
xXxXx
 
awww im so sorry to hear that your just haveing a time of it arent you, well hopefully they will read the guide and give you a bit more leanancy. im not sure about all the rights and stuff yet since ive not started working yet but i will most def be telling my employer about it and that i may need to miss time and random times and they will have to be able to acept that and if not i wont be able to work for them.
hm that really annoys me tho i cant believe you got lectured for crohns oh i would so be writing a letter lol! well hope it works out for you! good luck!
 
I'm not sure about the rights over there but here it is a disease that is protected under a federal law and as long as you have documentation from a doctor if they try to fire you or take any actions against you then it would not fly because of the federal protection. I would suggest getting a letter from your doctor stating something to the fact of "This is a paitent of mine and has a life long disease that is unpredictable and requires the close proximity of a restroom, the paitent also has frequent flareups that can cause extreme discomfort and may prevent some work from being performed." If its a disease that is protected in your country have that stated as well. Hope this helps you. most doctors will gladly print something like that up and give it to you.
 
What an awful situation LittleMissValentine! I don't blame you for being upset and angry. Even aside from the fact that you have an unpredictable chronic illness *which you informed them about from the beggining* I can't believe they would get like that over 1 missed day. If you missed a week or something I could understand them being concerned, but 1 day? Good luck whatever you decide to do, but they do not sound like very understanding employers.
 
You do have rights under the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) in the UK. You can probably google it or look on the NACC website for the details. After yet another long absence, I was sent for an independent occupational health assessment, and it was decided that I was probably coevered by the DDA (on the grounds of incontinence). This means that my employers have to make any reasonable adjustments to accommodate my needs. However, I could still be dismissed for excessive sick leave... just like any employee could... but it means they can't do anything specific due to the disease, just in relation to my sick record overall (does that make sense). Invocation of the DDA tends to make employers very nervous and they tend to be very nice to your face (if that helps)
The problem is that many (all?) employers will be wary of taking a crohnie on in the first place. I remember when I first started work (in 1977) and I was honest about my medical condition, I was on medical probation for two years... which meant they could have got rid of me at any time, but luckily I got through that. Employers will have some sort of policy regarding this, and I don't thinlk there's any way round it, until you're fully established.
I don't know if your Sunday job counts as casual work, but it seems like you're likely to have less protection.
When you're considering a career, it might be an idea to think of something that has flexible working hours, maybe the ability to work at home when required. That would probably help with the peaks and troughs of crohns
Good luck
 
Thank you everyone for your input.
Steve, I had done a little bit of research and thought that this may be the case about having too much sick leave.
I dont think I am considered disabled with my crohn's as I am not incontinant.
So if sacking me due to sick leave is not discrimination, is not taking me seriously considered discrimination? As couldnt that come under bullying?
So i guess it looks like im guna get sacked from my first job! woo!
xXxXx
 
Hi

Sorry you have had all the worry of this pain the but illnes. I know how you feel but have so far not been off sick as yet.

I work in HR for a retail company. Managers are under so much pressure from their managers and this makes it seem like they are being insensitive. I hear them being insensitive every day but as their advisor I advise them that they need to look at things from another pespective.

We monitor sickness and ask our Managers to stick to the company policy of doing return to work interviews etc. However if someone has a cronic or ongoing illness we have more of a chat about that and I advise them not to treat them so harshly.

You dont have to be incontinent to be covered by the DDA, you just have to have an ongoing illness that affects you and that will never go away. You would have a good case if they did dismiss you. The route they should be going down is a GP report or Occ Health assesment but I know that because you are only ther one day they may not want to do that.

Stick in there and sit down with your Manager again and advise her/him that you have a debilitating illness and this is the only reason for your absences. Hopefully this helps.
 
hmmm... what do people suggest i do then?
Should i mention discrimination to them next sunday? or should i just wait untill anything else happens and give them a doctors letter?
I rly dnt wanna work there anymore, but i rly need the money, esp as i am going to uni in sept. Plus it is so hard to get student jobs now coz of the reccession :(
xXxXx
 
Last edited:
My approach is always to try to be helpful, smile and nod, and try to go along with anything they suggest. Not always easy, but try and avoid being negative. I've never mentioned disability, discrimination or whatever... that's come as a result of me going along with suggestions to attend an independent occupational health examination... which I did willingly

Maybe Jooles with have more useful advice
 
you could always be a waitress lol it might be fun if you get a good place and if you only work on certain days and tell them u have cd maybe they will be more lienient because there are usually other waitresses that can cover for you if you cant come in one day. they would prolly be better then working sone snobish hoity toity job that are gonna give u lectures. well thats my opinion ne way. hope it helps
 
Hi Holly,
Sorry you are dealing with this. Fortunately, I don't have the same problem...my boss is very cool about the whole situation. But, if I were in your shoes here is what I would do...get a note or letter from your doctor, along with a pamphlet of literature briefly describing Crohn's so that your boss has a better understanding of what you are going through. Also, I would avoid mentioning that you are "tired". That is the one aspect of this disease that people are least capable of comprehending. Most people think "well I get tired too, but I don't call off of work". They really don't understand. I would just say that your Crohn's is acting up and leave it at that.

Best of luck to you.
 
Holly... I think that one of the fact sheets on the NACC website is aimed at explaining Crohns to managers and employers. You could print it out and hand it over for them to mull over.

Shadycat... agree with that 100%. It sounds a bit feeble to say "I can't do my job very well today as I feel a bit tired"... but it's tired like the sky has just fallen on top of you... not to mention the "brain fog" that comes with it... can't even get my name right when I answer the phone sometimes. I've just been marked down on my performance at work because I'm a bit tired and haven't been doing my job as well as I used to.
 
Tabathe...I like the fish idea! I would feel bad for the fish tho! :p

Steve...Yer i gave them that last week, im just hoping they have actualy read it by the time I go in on sunday, or i will be even more annoyed! Sorry that you are finding it hard at work too. I wish we didnt have to work, then we wouldnt have a problem. Or atleast not the fear of loosing jobs over it.
xXxXx
 
ok so do like cat food, you no the mushy kind that smells really bad! that may work just as well! then no animals would be hurt! or just buy a fish from a bucher shop or fish monger, then it would already be dead and everything. or you no u could just do something equally as stinky!^-^ we let rats loose in my middle school once, they last day b4 we went to highschool so we wouldnt have o deal with them and they would breed over the summer, yea i never found out what happend but i bet it wasnt good lol
 
hey valentine!
yeah i agree with what the others have said here. i DONT think that they can treat you badly because of a crohnic illness, but at the same time, i do see it from my employers perspective that it has to be very frusterating. they are trying to run a successful business and a sick and unpredictable employee is another thing that they have to deal with.
BUT thats no excuse for them to be mean about it or take it out on you. they should realize that its 100x as frusterating for you as you have to live it!

i think shadycat had a great point, dont tell them youre tired. say your disease is acting up or however you want to word it and leave it at that. whenever ive called out i said something like "i was up all night sick to my stomach." (which translates to "i didnt get any sleep becuase i was had explosive diharrea 18 times in 6 hours") :D
hah right?? lmao

it is a good idea to get a letter from your doc as well as some info about crohns and give them to your manager. ask to talk to them saying you "would like to discuss the meeting you had last week, you feel as if there is a misunderstanding aboiut your situation" and make sure to include in the discussion that YOU understand where they are coming from with trying to manage a chronically ill employee ok?

i think that the maturity and initiative that such a talk would show would make them value you very much.
so what if you have 11% abscence? the 89% time you are there you are doing an A++++ job and are a great employee. try to make them see that.

hope it works out for you!
 
Thanks kello :)

So i went to work yesterday and the supervisor was in rather than the assistant manager who was the one who gave me a lecture last week. The supervisor is nice, and i asked her if she had seen the information that I gave in last week, as i had asked that all the senoir staff read it. She didnt know anything about it, and we couldnt see it anywhere so i dont know what happened to it. She asked me about it and was nice, and i asked her to ask the manager about it because i thought it was important they all read it. So ill have to wait till next week to find out what happens!
xXxXx
 
hey at least theyre gonna read it! i know if i gave some teachers or ppl something to read about cd they wouldnt care and just be like oh yea ill def read it in a very fake way...some ppl jeeze lol! hope it goes well!
 
That really sucks. But am glad to hear that they may be reading and look forward to hearing that things went well.

I was always worried about my job until I started working where I am now. I work for the RCPSC, which is a medical non-profit org. So far, I have support, but I have never taken any extended time off so I wonder what would happen then. But from what I can see they are pretty generous. In fact, I can't believe the fact that many employees complain about their benefits! My current boss even went to bat for me when Sr management wanted to ban eating at desks; since I eat all frickin day for medical reasons, she voted against it.

It can be pretty scary working for a place where you are not sure whether your org would support in a time of sickness.
 
Forgot to mention that I too claim stomach issues when I can't make it in. Since they know what I have, and one of my colleagues mom had it, it is taken seriously. And in order for me to be that tired, I actually had to have a cramp/owwie bm. So if one is having these more than I do, then well heck yeah you are darn tired!
 
OMgosh! These people are sooo annoying!
So today was the first time i went back to work with the actual store manager after this whole off sick thing. She tells me that she wants to 'Clear the air' But ofc it turned into another argument!
She said that she cannot discriminate between me and other people who are off sick because i have a disease. She also said she 'didnt want me to feel bullied' So basicly she said everything she could to get herself out of trouble but failed to see my points!!
I want to take a day off sick next week just for the hell of it so i can bring up my argument again!
It just makes me so mad!!
xxxx
 
The problem with being 18 and missing work/school for an illness that nobody understands is that everybody thinks you're faking it. 18-year olds are flakes by virtue of the fact that they're 18, so unless authority figures can clearly see your ailment (like a broken spine or hair loss from chemotherapy), they think you're just being 18. If it becomes a persistent point of contention, your best bet is to act preemptively and start looking for a different job.

In the interim, however, I would not take time off under the guise of being ill if you're not actually too ill to work. That's bad juju, and it will come back to bite you in the butt.
 
xX_LittleMissValentine_Xx said:
Yer, she was saying she would give me no special treatment basicly!
xxx
Click to expand...

The DDA says they have to "accommodate" your special needs! It's the law!

Unofficially... I can understand your frustration (well, we all can on this forum)... whenever I come against one of those "I've never had a day's illness in my life" type of people I feel like saying "aren't you f***ing lucky"

The temperaments of managers and workmates make up a large part of the work experience, and I've always found that the bad ones are never around for long... but there may be better jobs out there, despite the economic gloom!
 
yea! im looking for a job at a daycare center right now! i love working with kids and if im having a bad day i can just rock feed and change the diapers of the infants! so maybe you should get a job like that, if you can handle kids XP!!!
 
Tabathe- no I can't deal with little kids!
I like looking at the cute ones but that is about it! :p

I think im just guna keep my head down at work and try not to get into any more trouble. Hopefuly only have a couple of months and then can leave anyway *sigh*

xxxx
 
well i wish you all the good luck i can!!! you can do it i have faith in you your a strong person!! and im sure you will be alble to find a more suitable job when you can leave this one! hope your well talk to ya soon!!!!lubs ya much tabby<(^-^)>
 
I'm really sorry to hear about this LittleMiss. Don't let them tell you that two times is a lot of absence. It works out as a high percentage because you work Sundays... but believe me I had more absence than that. I was lucky I had an understanding employer before - they were understanding to a point then came down on me like a ton of bricks, saying that they would have to dismiss me on grounds of ill health if my attendance couldn't improve. To be fair, it WAS really bad, but I felt completely terrible during this time in my life. The irony was that I was made redundant a few months after I managed to get back on my feet, and the redundancy was right before my operation!

Anyway, all I can tell you is that unfortunately we don't have a great deal of rights. They certainly SHOULD be more understanding but I don't think they have to be. :/ They unfortunately can dismiss you on the grounds that you are too ill to fulfil your contractual obligation (ie. to come in on a Sunday to work). Times are tough at the moment but if you are having trouble managing your work, you might find it less stressful to give it up and concentrate on your studies for a while.

You should also tell them how it is. I am fed up of taking shit from people who don't understand Crohns, to be honest. Tell them it's a nightmare, tell them we don't know if we're going to be in pain today, tomorrow or next week. It's unpredictable, and there's nothing that definitively tells us what's gonna work to treat us bar our own experiences. It's best to be honest with them about that aspect of it.

I hope you can get it sorted out soon. :)
 
hhhhhhooooooooooooooooooooooooollllllllllllllllllllyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy im bored and this was in my user cp so i thought i would add fortian for you ^-^

"To the world you may be one person but to one person you may be the world"

it was under my jones cap ^-^ i thought you might like it!!!
 
welx! im good and excited for my remicade treatment tommarow!!! i will tell you hows it goes i will have it at 1pm here so ill be getting it at like 6pm there lol ^-^, talk to ya soon!!
 
Thanks Lishyloo
Yer it is one of the UK chains.
How do u apply for the DDA?
Im trying to sort out a disability assessment for uni atm but im so confusedi dnt rly know what im doing :/
They sent me a letter saying i need to book an appointent but i dont know how! Its a nightmare!
xxx
 
LittleMiss.. sorry to hear about your problems at work. When reading your response from the manger about treating everyone the same.. I was thinking that the person was basically saying that everyone is being bullied if they are off sick.
I think that is pretty much how it goes with most people's experience.
I read an article in the local paper and they said that the people most vulnerable to bullying at work are those who are sick. That was my experince. Not just from the manager but supervisors and co workers as well.
 
Hi LMV...
Regarding the DDA... I can only go off my own experiences, so I'll wait to be corrected by anyone that knows better...
You don't "apply" for it as such, but you should be covered by it if necessary. I now have a letter from my company's independent Occ Health Doctor saying that I'm likely to be covered by it... but I've only got that because I was sent for an assessment because my sick record was so bad (think it's got worse since then). You could raise the subject of the DDA yourself if you thought fit (but in a non-threatening way, I'd suggest) and I suppose it's somethign you could raise if you thought you were unfairly dismissed
 
jeeze i cant believe theyre still pullin u around!! i would just step up and have my mommy calll lol!! she would scare whoever i had problems with while getting things settled ^-^
 
Discrimination at my work

Hey everyone.
Ive done a little testing and i can confirm that Vista is showing SP1 to different people on different nations.
I live outside the US and on my pc i treid checking for SP1 from different IP addresses, one of them is an IP for my country and another one is from USA. When checking for updates through the local country IP no SP1 was displayed. When checking through the USA IP the SP1 displayed.
this is just bullshit. The company is just discriminating between people. what do the USA citizens have that we dont have, both of us are paying the same price if not more in my country. both have internet and connected and we dont live under a rock.
 
Hey, Little Miss--sorry to hear you are having such troubles!

Lishyloo gave you really good advice about future jobs. Find large employers who not only have enough employees to cover for each other, but who are required to meet hiring targets, and have HR staffs who understand the laws, etc.

People do bully the "underdog"--they might not think they do, but it's all around us. I even see it in our cats---when one was sick with lymphoma, all of a sudden the other two were pouncing on her from behind chairs. What was that about?

You aren't going to be stuck in this job forever. Try to fix things so that when you do leave, they won't be saying Thank God, because you may need a reference from them.

Lishyloo also gave very good advice about not saying you are tired or stressed---ever---everyone who works at the place is probably tired, and the managers are all stressed. They hear the young employee looking for time off because of being tired, when they are tired all the time and they don't take off.

I know, they do not understand what the tiredness of CD is--but if they don't understand it, they can't comprehend what you are saying---so don't say that, say your Crohn's was "acting up"-- if they know the main outward symptom is diarrhea you can leave the rest to the imagination!

Also, don't use words like "discrimination" if you can avoid it--you don't want to sound like you are looking for a fight.

As to booking that appointment, somewhere on that letter there is the address & phone number of the place it came from. Call them and find out how you book one of these appointments. Tell them you are only 18 and haven't had a lot of expereience with taking care of these things. With any luck you will get a kindly person who will walk you through the steps.

When you have to talk on the phone about this stuff, make sure you are always smiling. It sounds funny, but it changes the way your voice comes across. And say things like "Hello! I know you are busy and I don't like to add to your work, but I need some help figuring out how to...." You will get much more help that way!

I am taking pentasa and azathioprine, too. How is it doing for you?
 
Acuisle, thank you for the advice :)
Umm pentata and azathioprine was working rly well. Kept me in remission after the pred. But recently it hasnt been so good. Im not bad by all meens, no dioreah but im in pain quite a bit. Oh well, i am seeing the doctor in sept so maybe things will get better if he can help me with anything.
xxxx
 
If in pain, what are you eating? Sometimes if your insides are raw, eating things with little roughage will help. You know, not having bean skins, corn on cob, apple peels and such scraping along already raw tissue.

Give a try to bread, rice, egg noodles, chicken breasts, fruits that have been canned or you cook yourself--you can slowly simmer peach or pear or apple slices in a bit of wine (yum) or butter and add a dash of vanilla and sprinkle of sugar.
 
I'm sorry to hear about the bullying at work you've been receiving. I work for a pretty relaxed company. But even they push my buttons sometimes. I know they think they're just joking but sometimes when your feeling sick it isn't appreciated to have your boss ask you how your pooper is doing.
Hang in there, i have a lot of people who work for me and they miss a ton of time and we never question it. Lots of different jobs out there that don't harbor ill will to every little reason you have to miss work.

Tim
 
Guess what guys?
I've handed in my notice!
:ybiggrin: :D :yoshijumpjoy: :applause: :runaway: :banana: :emot-dance:
It feels goooood!
Now I just need to find another job in Bath when I get there!
xxx
 
That was a terrible situation and unfortunately one that may be encountered many more times in the future. A year ago, before being diagnosed I was working in retail and used to get in quite a bit of trouble from my managers for having too many bathroom trips and taking so long. One day i got so frustrated I just came out and told her that I had terrible D and that I was going home, unfortunately I was fired not long after that. I wish I knew then what I know now. I'm so lucky, my mum has a beauty salon that I manage which gives me the ability to be flexible. Sometimes even if I'm having a bad day, I still feel comfortable enough to come to work, it's fantastic.
 
Glad to hear you are moving on. I jsut strted a little job in retail and am going to quiet very soon. it is too much of a negative environment for me. it is horrible to lsite to my co workers complain about little things on and on when I ahev this disease that so affects my life.
I do like working and helping people. I am going to try some more volunteer work. I also like doing things that are task oriented. My favourite volunteer job has been working with animals. I'm on disability so I may just stay with that.
 
hehe i agree with agent, i think u should work in a fudge shop! man that would b awesome!! i should get a job at the dairy queen around here ^.-
 

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