Any advice would be appreciated!

apinkegg

I've been in my current job for nearly a year- it's within a busy retail environment. When I applied I made sure that my JIA was mentioned within my application. Up until the last few weeks i've been faring pretty well, but I had an accident recently when I fell and hurt my left knee quite badly due to a rather haphazard layout of our backroom/overflow of stock etc.

As a result i've had more flare ups than usual but I have still done my best to work my shifts to the best of my abilities regardless- even turning up with knee support on and using a walking aid to assist me (I spent that entire shift behind the till!) My boss has been incredibly supportive and understanding, I cannot fault her at all, she's been a gem. But I feel like my Area Manager doesn't quite grasp the seriousness of my situation sometimes despite me explaining it to her on multiple occasions. She knows that I sometimes need a chair to sit on when my joints are in pain but apparently she's now said that i'm now not allowed one- her reasoning being that because my hours will be reduced I won't need it..(I forgot that symptoms and flare ups disappear with reduced hours!)

It seems that my suggestions to her on how we can make the store a more safe environment to work in have fallen on deaf ears and now i'm at a loss at how I can make her see thing from my perspective. My ultimate worry is that she'll see me as a hindrance and look for someone "more able"

Does anyone have any advice on how I can communicate to her that I AM able to carry out my work but with the appropriate adjustments?

Poppyjane

Welcome @apinkegg to the online community,

You have JIA and have been in your current job for the last year. You have informed your employer of your condition and have received some good support from your immediate boss but feel as though your Area Manager is not listening to your requests and suggestions sufficiently well.

I hope this link will provide you with specific support and I also include the Helpline details in case you would like to talk through your situation with one of our advisors

https://www.versusarthritis.org/additional-services/working-well-with-arthritis/

https://www.versusarthritis.org/get-help/helpline/

Do let us know how you get on with your conversations and maybe in the future you could join us in other areas of the community which offer a great variety of activities and discussions.

Take Care

Poppyjane

RedPanda

Hi Apinkegg,

I'm glad you have a supportive line manager, and sorry the area manager is so narrow-minded and uneducated. Always annoys me when people in job roles that are meant to support their workforce don't make even a little attempt to make things easier for them.

Are you part of a Union or other type of organisation that you can speak to? Some companies do occupational health to go through what equipment or amendments can be made to help with your condition. If there's none of that available via work maybe speak to your specialist and see if they can makes recommendations for you/refer you so you can take something to work to highlight the issues you may face.

Also I would take pictures of the dangerous area and report it to HR as you have been injured by it already so pretty sure as an organisation they need to sort it!

Hope some of that helps, obviously I'm not a professional in these matters but have heard/used some of these myself. They need to support you - pretty sure that's a legal requirement - if you are asking for little things (like a friggin' chair) they shouldn't be able to refuse.

Really hope it gets better for you, good luck x