hungryhorace

I would welcome your thoughts on this, as I am trying to work out a way to ensure my wife does not have to wheel fat people in her day job.

Currently my wife works for a hospital. Recently they have now asked my wife and her colleagues to wheel the fat people who arrive in their wheelchairs. This can be from the car all the way through the hospital. I find this entirely unacceptable, and have stated either my wife tells them she will not be doing this or I will come down and inform them.

One of her colleagues has now injured her back from pushing one of these people.

What would you do if you were in my situation? For me it would be as simple as informing my employer 'No, find someone else to do it. This is not in my contract of employment'. However, my wife and her colleagues are more diplomatic than I. They also fear losing their job (my wife losing her employment would be no hardship, I earn enough to cover us both and she could easily find another job), but others there aren't in a similar position. Yet for me, I take the opinion that I would not give my labor to a firm that was prepared to ask me to injure myself on their behalf.

Thoughts, opinions, appreciated.

Pulaski

She needs a different job. There is no other effective solution, and trying to do anything while in her current role is only likely to lead to her being fired (actually fired, or effectively fired i.e. made to feel so uncomfortable that she will eventually resign).

hungryhorace

The problem is my wife loves her job, though I'm acutely aware she could earn more by moving employers (but money isn't a motivator for her). I would prefer them as a group to enforce a 'we are not doing this' approach. What would they do? Fire all of them? I doubt it.

If this were my issue I would write to my manager informing them that I am objecting to this requirement due to the threat it poses to my health and that I would suggest they hire a dedicated person to wheel the obese people in.

Personally I find obese people offensive, so wouldn't even wish to be in the same vicinity as them, let alone have to push the lazy bastards.

hoffage123

If it were England then you could probably get Occy Health involved to do a risk-assessment or the Union etc ... but not sure if it will be solved other than your missus moving job really.

Also, in a lot of contracts they put the clause in "and other duties as may be required to fulfil the requirements of the role" which is a catch-all for "we can make you do anything we want apart from something illegal".

Time to dust off the resume I think ...

hungryhorace

Yep, just another thing that irritates me about corporate America - complete lack of health & safety consideration for employees. If anything happens to my wife as a result of pushing one of these fatties, I wonder if the employer doesn't expect me to hit them with a lawsuit within the week? Does that not even cross their minds?

Pulaski

That's not entirely true .... a well aimed lawsuit would get management's attention! Your wife should encourage her colleague, the one with the injured back, to bring a lawsuit, because that would almost certainly either lead to a new role of "Obese Person Relocation Operative", or the provision of motorized wheelchairs.

hungryhorace

I've already offered to help her find an appropriate attorney to file the lawsuit. Not a problem at all. Sometimes a lawsuit is the only thing that gets a persons attention. I feel this has to happen to ensure my wife isn't put at risk of injury.

Pulaski

It's taken you this long to notice?

Leslie

If she's not physically strong enough to do the job then they shouldn't have hired her. Whether you like fat people or not, it's obvious her company makes money off their poor health.

N1cky

You find this totally unacceptable? Does your wife?

I'd be absolutely furious with my husband if he stated "tell them you won't be doing this or I will come down and inform them."

You aren't in a situation. It's her job, butt out.

hungryhorace

Yup. Entirely unacceptable. Hence asking me for my input.

You clearly don't get the idea of 'shared responsibility'. What affects her, affects me. Or would your husband be entirely fine with you suffering a potentially life changing H&S incident at work?
I pity your husband having to put up a women who takes the attitude that you display.

hungryhorace

Two points:

1. My wife has worked there 5+ years. It is only in the last 6 months that this has been part of their 'job'. It has also been done without any contractual change, something - at least in England - that would be required if a change in responsibilities was mandated.

2. Whether a person is fat or not, makes no difference to the line of medical work my wife is in. They are not making more money off of a fattie than a healthy individual.

SultanOfSwing

What does your wife do at the hospital? Is she an orderly or doctor/nurse, or is she an admin/office type person. Surely the doctors and nurses would be too busy making people better to cart fatties around and one would think it does not fall under the job description of an administrator. Sadly, if she is an orderly or similar, there might be nothing she can do, assuming she objects to doing it.

Alternatively, as a hospital focussed on wellness (or they should be anyway), it might be better if they enforced a strict walk your lazy arse into the building yourself policy, unless you're geriatric or have a broken leg or you're a baby.

I'm a fat cnut and I am quite capable of walking many miles so they have no excuse. I can even play 90 minutes of football without dying, though the edges of my vision do go a bit grey when I'm playing left midfield instead of being a poachy bastard striker

hungryhorace

No, this was my approach in England as well.

N1cky

No, her asking for your input, doesn't give you the right to march down there and insist that she doesn't do it. That's just taking over, not to mention making her look like a total muppet.

My husband was at work until midnight last night, both of us find that unacceptable but it was necessary as part of his role. Maybe I'll nip down at lunch time and let his boss know that we find it unacceptable and it must stop now.