Life is riddled with a procession of minor impediments

[Link Prime]

Don't know if it affects any other countries or not, but Apple have increased all App & in-App-purchase prices by appox 15% in ROI.
Bloody rip-off c*nts. The kinda cynical move that drives people to illegally download comics in my opinion...

[SuperSurfer]

Hope all is well HdE. Few years ago I woke up with a phenomenally painful ankle. NHS Indirect said it was a sprain when I knew it wasn't. In one week it swelled up so much I almost felt like I needed to prick the skin to relieve the pressure. So went to the doc much later than I should've. Turned out it was an infection. Obviously not the case with your knees but hope you can get treatment promptly.

After a kickabout footie injury and two decades of martial arts my knees are knackered.

[HdE]

Cheers for that, Surfer Dude!

As of now, my knees have returned to normal. Doctor thinks it might be a stress related condition (and god alone knows, I've had plenty of that in the last fortnight) but he's also considering the possibility that there's something funky in either my foot or my legs that's precipitating these reactions.

Am scheduled for a blood test, so that should rule out any seriously nasty stuff.

[The Legendary Shark]

I'm having another crisis of confidence but this one seems a bit deeper than most. I'll get over it though - I am at least fairly confident about that. I think.

[TordelBack]

I'm having another crisis of confidence but this one seems a bit deeper than most.

Confidence is just another kind of self-delusion, heavens know why the ladies allegedly dig it so. Never had any truck with it myself.  Push on through this crisis to the truth.

Flippancy aside, hope the clouds part by morning.   

[The Legendary Shark]

Thanks, Tordels. You are wise and made me smile

[Minkyboy]

Lifting my 3 year old into bed the other night - ouchie.
That will be a hernia then, confirmed with Dr today.

The Hivemind is falling apart.
As we continue to age and deteriorate we should have a dedicated thread for each medical condition.
Bagsy my place in the bad back and slightly senile threads.
I'm only 38 

[Noisybast]

Trouble at work.

I work forty miles away from where I live. It takes an average of 1h 15m to get to work in the mornings.
I leave a good margin for error and I'm usually between ten and thirty minutes early for work.

Fairly regularly, something will cause a delay (accidents, bad weather, traffic - the usual) and I'll be slightly late (generally 5 minutes or so). I always stay back to work any time owed. So far, this has seemed a satisfactory arrangement.

Yesterday I was 8 minutes late, and I'm being offered a new, frankly shit, deal. If I can't guarantee to be in for 8am, I get to choose between permanent late shifts or disciplinary action.

As I'm trying my damnedest to find a job in another NHS trust closer to home, I could really do without the threat of disciplinary action hanging over me. It's easy for my manager to say "leave earlier", but a) I'm already setting off at 6:40 and b) if I leave ten minutes earlier, I'll be getting in before 7:30 every day, and I'm willing to bet the little fucker won't be letting me leave early...

[Noisybast]

Oh, and the minor impediment is that I can't find the "Life Spugs" thread...

[The Legendary Shark]

Tell your boss that if she/he doesn't treat your situation with reasonable flexibility that you'll enlist the help of a tribunal, union or soliciter to sue him/her for bullying. If he/she wants guarantees, then he/she must be prepared to pay for it - by providing you with a taxi to work every morning. If he/she is not prepared to do this then the demand of a guarantee is neither serious or reasonable and the current imperfect but workable situation must stand.

We live in a free country, after all, not a dictatorship - and in free countries, sh*t happens on the way to work sometimes. Stand your ground and the Devil take the consequences.

[SmallBlueThing]

Yes, that's awful behaviour. You need to request a supervision immediatey expressly about this and put it in the same terms as you did here. Get it logged and noted. do NOT mention you discussed it on an internet message board, or you will be disciplined. Get advice from your union rep and be ready to put in a grievance against this person. Read your companies timekeeping and grievance policies immediately. And good luck!

SBT

[TordelBack]

Aye, do what SBT said.  Transport inconveniences affect everybody, what with us all being human.  If you are only a matter of minutes late once a month or so, and more regularly early, there is no way that this can be an issue of this magnitude.  There is always an onus on an employer to act in a reasonable manner.

I had to deal with timekeeping issues in my former life as an employer, more than any other single issue in fact since we billed in 15 minute increments, and what I wouldn't have given for an occasional 8 minutes to be worthy of my notice!  Try the lad who was up to an hour late to clients' sites at least once a week - we went through innumerable informal and about 5 formal warnings before he mercifully headed off on his travels.

'Course, we went bust, so YMMV.

[Dandontdare]

There is always an onus on an employer to act in a reasonable manner.

In a moral or humane sense maybe, but legally? I'm not sure. It's hardwired into the DNA of bosses to act unreasonably at least 50% of the time!

Be thankful that in the public sector you have unions and grievance procedures that allow you to challenge this. Where I work (and in the majority of workplaces), I simply have to be at work on time, end of story. It's my responsibility to do so, and if I'm even a minute late, I get a file note, three of those within a certain period and I'm out. "Leave earlier" would be the same advice I would be given (Christ, I need a new job. Life as a battery chicken sucks)

Oh, and I wouldn't bother demanding taxis though, as I think that's a tad unrealistic!

[The Legendary Shark]

The demand for taxis isn't meant to be an actual goal, but a feint. It gives you the opportunity to frame the issue in your own way, puts a chip on the table that you don't mind losing and emphasises the absurdity of the boss' position: "We can't pay for you a taxi, that's unreasonable" - "so are your demands" kind of thing.

It might also be an idea to get your boss to put his/her demands in writing for you to 'refer to in future proceedings' and attach to it the personnel report demonstrating your timekeeping record upon which your boss presumably based these current demands. Make sure to let your boss know that you expect him/her to be acting upon established internal procedures and not acting on a whim. If he/she cannot or will not produce this documentation then mention of something like 'Protection from Harassment Act 1997' might just make this go away.

In special forces parlance; always attack an ambush.

[TordelBack]

There is always an onus on an employer to act in a reasonable manner.

In a moral or humane sense maybe, but legally? I'm not sure.

Can't speak for the Queen's subjects (that's her job after all), but here in the Banana Republic the answer is 'yes' - once you've employed someone for more than a year, you must be able to show that you have taken all reasonable steps to resolve problems prior to undertaking major disciplinary actions or dismissals. 

Going beyond internal best practice in HR (which is where the moral and humane senses should come into play), the problem is always where that legal responsibility is enforced.  Taking an unfair or constructive dismissal case is a colossal pain in the arse, and the first-hand reality of the matter is that people are unwilling to do so because of how long the procedure takes, and what it does to their future employment prospects.  It is very seldom worth it, unless the treatment was really appalling or you have a point you feel compelled to make.

There's also the painful fact that the penalties are relatively minor for a company of any size, and many companies feel it's easier to take the occasional hit rather than have their working practices dictated by legally-mandated decency.  However, you should always pursue all the channels open to you as an employee, in a polite and reasonable matter.  We really aren't battery hens, for all that it is the fervent desire of many employers.