The South Midlands experience

[Entropy]

I have worked for royal mail for nearly 7 years and have recently been transferred to the new south midlands mail center. i have a long term illness that my previous managers were aware of. when i have to see my doctor it is usually in the afternoon as he does not work mornings. no other gp's will deal with any problems and medication adjustments as they always say i must see my primary gp. fair enough. i dont wish to change gp as i now feel comfortable with my gp and with the way he deals with things. so my previous managers would allow me the usually small amount of time i needed to be able to see him.

being at the new mail center has had serious repercussions on my health, which had already been steadily declining although i had been managing it so far. i mentioned this to my new manager and found out that you are not allowed time off at all to see a doctor (hospital yes but not gp). if my gp worked mornings i would gladly go then but this now means i have no chance to see him. i was eventually offered the opportunity to make back any time i was late by. as i am relied upon by someone to transport them, i cannot go in early or work late. this means i have to work through my break. the breaks are already ridiculously placed (2pm start, 3pm break, 4.40pm dinner, 10pm finish) one break is the same time as previously and the second is actually earlier although we start and finish 30mins later. so far i and many people there are in agony by the end of the night and i also suffer with sciatica and am now heavily reliant on strong painkillers just to remain standing (no chairs around as you are not allowed to sit down, not sure how they intend to support light duties for some).

basically i really dont see how i would be able to manage whilst losing a significant portion of my break. there is no union support that i know of and this is becoming a major concern for me. if they were to let me see my gp i really doubt it would make me very late, maybe half an hour based on the times i have been able to get in to him in the past. i am seriously concerned at where my situation is heading without his help but at a total loss as to what i can do about it. i have no leave for 2 months so cant wait until then.

i apologize for the length and for if it sounds whiny, i just wanted to put as much as i felt i could in in the hope that someone might be able to offer advice. I realize i have not said what the condition is but i am worried that it would be a sure fire way of recognizing me as it doesnt seem to be something they come across a lot and i have not had good enough experiences with some managers to feel ok with them finding out.

thank you if you read this far (i'm really hoping i put this post in the right place, i apologize if not)

[mailsort6]

For a union rep you need to contact the Northamptonshire Amal Branch:

Tel: 01604 631219
Fax: 01604 639754
E-mail: cwu.northamptonshire@btinternet.com
Website: http://www.nncwu.co.uk" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I hope this helps.

[andy2007]

You're right about the lack of time off being rediculous. But there are alternatives to working through your breaks, or making up the time at the beginning or end of your shift. Before I suggest them though. I'd like to point out, that I'm vheomently against the need to use them, as RM have a duty of care to us. And to make it so difficult for us to attend important appointments is IMHO bordering on negligent!
1) Change shifts, so that your appointments don't clash with your shifts (probably not an option as someone relies on you for a lift).
2) Book a half day's AL for each appointment (you can still drop your collegue off. Just don't go in, until the second half of your shift).
3) Request unpaid Special Leave to attend the appointments (the worst option of the lot, as you shouldn't have to loose money to see your Doctor. And there's still the problem of getting your Manager to agree to this. It's not a right ).

There may even be other options available. But those are the one's I know about. I've had to use 2 and 3 several times, over the years. And when I had regular appointments over several months, I had to do 4 days on my normal Shift, and 1 day on a different shift, so that I could attend. So much for their duty of care, eh?

[oggie]

the person who relies on u for a lift, what do they do when you are on a/l or s/l ?

[roger]

I have worked for royal mail for nearly 7 years and have recently been transferred to the new south midlands mail center. i have a long term illness that my previous managers were aware of. when i have to see my doctor it is usually in the afternoon as he does not work mornings. no other gp's will deal with any problems and medication adjustments as they always say i must see my primary gp. fair enough. i dont wish to change gp as i now feel comfortable with my gp and with the way he deals with things. so my previous managers would allow me the usually small amount of time i needed to be able to see him.

being at the new mail center has had serious repercussions on my health, which had already been steadily declining although i had been managing it so far. i mentioned this to my new manager and found out that you are not allowed time off at all to see a doctor (hospital yes but not gp). if my gp worked mornings i would gladly go then but this now means i have no chance to see him. i was eventually offered the opportunity to make back any time i was late by. as i am relied upon by someone to transport them, i cannot go in early or work late. this means i have to work through my break. the breaks are already ridiculously placed (2pm start, 3pm break, 4.40pm dinner, 10pm finish) one break is the same time as previously and the second is actually earlier although we start and finish 30mins later. so far i and many people there are in agony by the end of the night and i also suffer with sciatica and am now heavily reliant on strong painkillers just to remain standing (no chairs around as you are not allowed to sit down, not sure how they intend to support light duties for some).

basically i really dont see how i would be able to manage whilst losing a significant portion of my break. there is no union support that i know of and this is becoming a major concern for me. if they were to let me see my gp i really doubt it would make me very late, maybe half an hour based on the times i have been able to get in to him in the past. i am seriously concerned at where my situation is heading without his help but at a total loss as to what i can do about it. i have no leave for 2 months so cant wait until then.

i apologize for the length and for if it sounds whiny, i just wanted to put as much as i felt i could in in the hope that someone might be able to offer advice. I realize i have not said what the condition is but i am worried that it would be a sure fire way of recognizing me as it doesnt seem to be something they come across a lot and i have not had good enough experiences with some managers to feel ok with them finding out.

thank you if you read this far (i'm really hoping i put this post in the right place, i apologize if not)

The first thing that you should do is get your manager to refer you to ATOS ,as you have sciatica (Which i also have.)it comes under the DDA ,your other medical condition may also come under it as well.There are a number of things that Royal Mail have to consider if you are classed as DDA such as time off to see docters etc.You also mentioned that you have to stand ,they tried doing this at my Mail centre i refused, nothing happend,but i was so pissed off that i decided to look into it. Under the Health an safety at Work Act it states(If a job can be done seated,the employer must provide seating.)I brought this to the attention of the CWU,it now no longer happens on my shift.Also if you are classed as DDA you would have to have a seated duty with your sciatica.I hope this has been of some help.

[Entropy]

Thank you very much for the help here. I may answer questions not in order, just as I remember/see them.

The person who relies on me for a lift, when it comes to leave etc, tbh we are not entirely sure. There is no one else near me to take her and it is a problem we are still trying to sort out. Changing shifts is something I had considered but there are other things besides giving the person a lift that would still make this difficult. Booking the half day I hadn't thought of and that as well as the part day special leave is something I shall consider. Although I am loath to lose the money for it I know it is at a point where it is going to be more harmful not to go.

I do come under the DDA for both the sciatica and the other condition and I hadn't even thought about that meaning they should really allow me to go to the doc's if necessary and if it is the only appointment I can get. Over the weekend they also put in seats in the flats area, although I prefer not to have to have a sitting duty it is definitely nice to know that an option is going to be there if I or others need it.

Thank you so much for all the advice, I shall most definitely speak to a manager about it (not my area one just one I know so as to get a feel for a possible response, then I shall speak to my area manager). It feels good to actually have something to do and a possible solution and I am really grateful. I shall let you know how it goes.

[bobbyden]

This subject has only come to my attention recently and therefore I apologise unreservedly for such a late contribution.

By the very nature of your posting, you come across as a decent, honourable person and a credit to the Royal Mail. It strikes me as bizzare to say the least that someone who asks for so little from the company that has employed them for the past seven years is treated in such a high-handed manner.

This really highlights what is wrong with the Royal Mail, in so much as, there are far too many individuals working for this company who live in their own self-centred little world. So much for WORLD CLASS, more like, THIRD WORLD!

Let me take this opportunity of wishing you well, in what is by no stretch of the imagination, a new job in a new environment. Furthermore, I sincerely hope and pray your health circumstances improve, enabling you to have a far better quality of working life. You so richly deserve it.

Regards
Bobbyden


PS. Keep us posted here on Royal Mail chat how things go. I would be very interested to know.