Rank: Guest 
|
Posted By Nick House
Hi
I have a (Diabetic) member of staff that has just been signed off for 2 weeks due to the fact that stressful situations in their pesonal life have led to their blood sugar levels fluctuating drastically.
Although the majority of the 'problems' that this person is having are non work related, the job that they do has it's own stressors which may be exacerbating things.
My question is twofold, as this person's manager is not necessarily the most helpful/ personable person on the planet:
1) As this person's diabetes was declared prior to employment, is it covered under the amendments to the DDA.
2) when the person comes back to work, am I correct in saying that reg 6 of the Management Regs should be implemented.
I am leaning towards pushing for the person to gradually ease themselves back into their role, with the levels of stress being assessed and measures taken to reduce these levels if it is determnined that the levels dictate it to be reasonable to do so.
Regards
Nick.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Rank: Guest
|
Posted By J Knight
Hi Nick,
Diabetes is explicitly mentioned in the amendments to the DDA and is included. Reg 6 is about work related conditions really, so wouldn't apply as such; however ongoing monitoring of work risks which might be exacerbated by health conditions should be carried out anyway.
I went to a very good seminar on DDA & Safety in Houndslow run by the London Met branch of IOSH yesterday, and diabetes was one of the conditions covered in the workshops. The main thrust of all the presentations was that where any disability is concerned an individual RA should always be at the centre of the employers approach. The RA must be carried out by a competent person, and never be afraid to get Occy Health advice. Another useful tip was to carry out a task analysis to identify exactly which, if any, aspects of the job might be affected by the person's health condition; oh, yes, and always, always talk to the person concerned. Very instructive story about completely refurbishing all the lifts in a building versus an 18 inch piece of dowel with a rubber stuck on the end...
John
|
|
|
|
|
|
Rank: Guest
|
Posted By Nick House
Hi John
Thanks for the informative response. I did try to look online for the precise amendments to the DDA with regards to illnesses, but couldn't find what I was looking for (hence the post).
I thought that Diabetes was listed, but wasn't sure, and wanted to get all my facts squared away before going in with all guns blazing in support of this person (should it be needed)!
The person in question's attendance record is generally pretty good (in fact, far better than average), but several people have noticed a downturn from their normal 'chirpy' self of late, culminating in this person going back to their GP and being signed off work.
Thanks again.
Regards
Nick.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Rank: Guest
|
Posted By Kieran J Duignan
Nick
I also enjoyed the Disability seminar yesterday.
From your observations about the once-'chirpy' employee and about his line manager, it sounds as if risks of harm from 'stress' are foreseeable.
Valid assessment of stress is not easy in this situation, partly because of 'negative' connotations of stress. That's why I and another chartered occupational and health psychologist wrote a Code of Practice for Assessment of Psychological Fitness to Work, which was accepted this month by the Professional Practices Board of the British Psychological Society. If you would like to read a copy, email me at kieran@enablingpeople.co.uk
|
|
|
|
|
|
You cannot post new topics in this forum.
You cannot reply to topics in this forum.
You cannot delete your posts in this forum.
You cannot edit your posts in this forum.
You cannot create polls in this forum.
You cannot vote in polls in this forum.