Employers want to change my role/duties

[bewillded]

Having had a car accident i have been off sick with whiplash. I was enduring ongoing contract issues with my employers before my accident. I have been to Occ Health who have advised my employer to lower my desk and provide me with a seating assessment. I waork from a breakfast bar height desk with a chair that i can rest my feet on but i can not touch the ground and my screen is at the wrong height which has been an ongoing for 12 months but is propped up with boxes and books as a best fit option. My employer has written and advised me that to avoid time on the computer they will be redefining my job description to work 1.1 counselling young people with emotional and anger issues and supporting children during lessons. My previous role was data handling working from a computer but i have worked on a 1.1 basis with one child before. My question is can they do this?

[rebel11]

Hi bewillded

 

Have you checked your T & C's of employment, you should also have a Employee Handbook.

[assisted blonde]

Do you want to change the work you do?

[bewillded]

No, I have been off for 5 months and OH have advised employer before i come back to work to lower the desk that i work from. I feel this latest response is aimed at not doing this and by changing my role I won't sepnd as much time on the computer as my previous role. I am also not confident about counselling young people with anger issues or self esteem issues as i have no training in this and i am being expected to do this without training. I do not have a job description and i have queried this as i feel i am working at a different grade to what i am paid at. Employers response has been to get HR to evaluate my role but without the handbook that i work to! Low and behold it came out that i was being paid correctly. HR do not hold a generic despription for my role and based their assessment on a teaching assistants post which is not what i do. The Data Protection Act request that i submitted revealed that HR had generalised and submised what my duties might be in coming to their assesment. My argument is that i have a staff handbook which details my tasks and this should have been used. What are my options?

[lbruk]

raise a grievance and say that you are not happy with how the investigation and assumptions were made.

[bewillded]

i have already raised a grievance concerning my pay which the school let me do on the informal stage but then refused to let it go before the governors on the formal stage as technically grievances can't be raised over pay!

[Sidewinder]

In which case, respond with the suggestion that you do not consider the change of role to be a suitable adjustment in view of your lack of experience and training in dealing with the types of issue which will arise in that role. Ask why the more simple solution of a different seating solution cannot be considered.

 

A breakfast bar chair and VDU on boxes? Is there no Health & Safety provision in the place? No Risk Assessment? This needs looking at irrespective of your injury as it sounds as though it already falls foul of the Health and Safety (Display Screen Equipment) Regulations 1992 - link http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/priced/hsg90.pdf

 

THis could easily be reported as a concern to the local Environmental Health department, never mind OH!