I have a client who conducts FM services. The office is about 20 staff and the boss buys everyone a bacon sandwich or similar every Fri. If you don't want something from the butty van you can have fresh fruit.

The problem is we have a contract manager who is gluten intolerant and everyone in the office knows, it's not a secret. Anyway, because he fears missing out on a Fri, he insists on having a bacon roll. He then spends over an hour in the small throne room in the afternoon and the smell is to be frank, disgusting. It doesn't happen any other day of the week so from the conclusion of the other staff it must be the bread he's eating on a Fri morning with the bacon.

How does the company stand with this? We know he is gluten intollerant but we still pay for his bread which we know will make him ill.

1 option we did trial with him was to have the contents of his roll in a takeaway box but no bread. This lasted about a month but he then reverted back to the bread.

Is there anything that can be done? Everyone in the office knows the solution including this particular manager but he really does fear missing out on something for free.

He is a grown adult, and the butty van doesn't offer gluten free products. It's an old school burger van. Plus because the boss likes the food there, he only allows that establishment to be used.

Trouble is with him being indisposed for an hour or more it stinks the office out and staff are beginning to complain. I'm all for banning him from eating bread in the office, he could obviously bring his own bread in and go back to the bacon in a box and make his own sandwich up.

My inclination would be to eliminate the freebie (I know I am a killjoy) but so long as it remains available this employee is going to continue administering what is to their system a poison loosing the employer paid service and exposing the employee to additional health problems such as haemarroids.

Or re-negotiate their working week so they finish Friday lunch time

I'd like to eliminate him to be fair. He's annoying in the office to say the least. ALways listening in on conversations and commenting when he has no knowledge or authority to do so, but thats another issue.

Removing the freeby isn't going to happen as that would be punishing the majority for 1 person. As for a lunchtime finish, a bit hard when the buttys turn up at 10.

It's even to the point, if he's out visiting clients he'll order a butty and eat it when he comes back, wether it's hot or cold. Very strange.

Are you positive he is diagnosed gluten intollerant ?  Just doing what you say with one mouth full will potentially make him suffer for 2-3 days...as the results are an attack on his immune system...just sounds strange to me that someone would put themselves through that pain and discomfort for a free bacon buttie...

In the interests of his wellbeing he should not be offered anything that could adversly affect his health just from a wellbeing point of view...doesn't stop anyone else having one...he can have fruit.. 

https://www.reddit.com/r/funny/comments/20y91x/actual_notice_outside_of_a_hobby_store_where/

If this person is truely gluent intollerant they have a serious condition know as Celiac disease which is the bodies immune reaction to eating gluten...it affects about 1 in 100 globally...it is herediatry and there is no cure...there are weight loss programs out there that promote gluten free diets as a route to better health...it is just rubbish...because if you follow that regime you are setting yourself up for some serious deficiencies in B vitamins escpecially B9 Folic acid, in women that can have a serious affect on the unborn child...this has, in some cases, been used as a diversionary tactic by those with an eating disorder....so tred carefully you never know what you might find...what I would be pushing for is the cold hard fact of a gluten intollerance test or herediatry information that makes the link...

It seems to me that this issue is not really whether he meets some dictionary definition of gluten intolerant or not. The nature of the problem is clear and the cause of it seems to have been identified. If your not prepared to eliminate the cause or prevent him exposing himself to it then you have little choice but to tolerate the results.

At least you know the culprit and the cause. At our place we have a phantom pan spatterer. Always the same cubicle, no idea who it is. The issue is not a minor one and the problem is spectacular in nature, almost catacylsmic. After viewing it one can only be amazed how the perpetrator can still be walking around. It's practically a daily occurrence. I have tried everything I can think of in terms of communicating that even if one is unfortunate enough for this sort of event to be part of your daily routine it would be more polite to make some attempt to deal with the aftermath, and yet the problem persists.....

One manager has suggested logging (no pun intended) the incidents then comparing against abscence records.......

Many thanks to all those that have provided personal experiences of this issue. I think a quiet word word with him is in order. I've spoken to his line manager and he's shying away from it. But he suggested that as this issue was causing issues that I as the H&S bloke have the chat. Plus he said that because I was external to the company it would be better from me.

So I now have until Wed to sort my game out and prepare for the meeting.

Originally Posted by: ttxela

Originally Posted by: Mark-W

Many thanks to all those that have provided personal experiences of this issue. I think a quiet word word with him is in order. I've spoken to his line manager and he's shying away from it. But he suggested that as this issue was causing issues that I as the H&S bloke have the chat. Plus he said that because I was external to the company it would be better from me.

So I now have until Wed to sort my game out and prepare for the meeting.

My sympathies, I suspect you are in for an interesting time, I love the idea of you preparing for it, will there be a powerpoint presentation? Handouts? Maybe steer away from providing snacks......

Preparation will be mental preparation knowing the sort of bloke he is, he will come back with all sorts of info about it's his body and he do what he wants with it. But I may be surprised.

Mark - is this a good client for you?

Is it worth the hassle of doing what others should be sorting? Assuming the scope of your contract is to advise on occupational health and safety issues, then this is outside scope.

If you do dirty work that your client is dumping on you, what will they dump on you next?

Mark there is a point in life when you just don’t care anymore: you may have reached that point.  At my previous employer’s we had arranged conference and we had a number of visitors and so we laid on some nibbles for lunch. One of the visitors reacted badly to the chicken satay-a full on anaphylactic attack leading to emergency treatment   at the local A&E. He got better and came back the following day. We decided it was a RIDDOR (the only one that year) so I went over to see. I asked if he knew that he might have a peanut allergy. He said of course he knew but he just fancied trying out the satay as he had never had it before! I looked at all the signage and other allergy information displayed with the food that was laid on and looked at him and decided that I really, RIDDOR or not, I did not care. I had to focus on the stuff that was in ours to control, dealing with people who needed to be kept healthy and safe, not trying to second guess idiots.

Originally Posted by: Mark-W

Many thanks to all those that have provided personal experiences of this issue. I think a quiet word word with him is in order. I've spoken to his line manager and he's shying away from it. But he suggested that as this issue was causing issues that I as the H&S bloke have the chat. Plus he said that because I was external to the company it would be better from me.

So I now have until Wed to sort my game out and prepare for the meeting.

Who told the bloke that he is this person line MANAGER? He sounds more like a snivelling jellyfish!  What does he manage if not the staff-the stationary cupboard?

You should charge for management constancy on top of anything you get for your Health and Safety role.

And, as this rant keeps getting longer, what sort of commitment can you as a non –employee make? Only someone in the corporate hierarchy can do this.

Well today was the day. As luck would have it, the bloke was out. So I've passed it back to management.

Originally Posted by: peter gotch

Mark - is this a good client for you?

Is it worth the hassle of doing what others should be sorting? Assuming the scope of your contract is to advise on occupational health and safety issues, then this is outside scope.

If you do dirty work that your client is dumping on you, what will they dump on you next?

They are a good client. Not my best but they were my first. They were the company that gave me some cash in hand work when I first left the Army to tide me over and they offered me a starter position when I was waiting for my NEBOSH results. So they showed some faith in me. Plus my Mrs is the MD's PA. So I also have a social interaction with them. They are only a small family run business.

They want me to increase my days with them but I'm resisting currently but I'm getting pressure from the Mrs as well so I'm between a rock and another rock.