Health and safety at work - long standing shoulder complaint?

I had my desk at work set up for me by our occupational health people, since then I have gone part time as I am at uni gaining an additional qualification and my 'desk space' has been allocated to another member of staff.

I am now returning to the office and this staff member will not move and my manager says the office is now so overcrowded 'we are all "hot desking" in any case' so I cannot have a desk.

This morning I saw my shoulder specialist and I now have to wait a while for an MRI scan and key hole surgery on my shoulder.

She says I am entitled to my safe work space back.

How should I approach this with my manager and team who are clearly struggling to accommodate my health issues?

It's a local authority, I am a youth offending team officer/ trainee social worker, so they don't want to get rid of me! thanks for the help though

xxx

Your employee needs to make 'reasonable adjustments' for you if you have a health complaint, talk it through with your manager. If you get no luck here, take it higher. If he's the highest boss, you need to take it up with a trade union (see on the internet about this).

Put a formal complaint in writing through the union, this should make your boss listen if they have any sense, otherwise they may face legal action.

Don't you have a union? See if you can get a note off the doctor. If your problem gets worse, they could be held responsible. If you worked on a building sight, they would provide you with a hard hat & steelcapped boots. In my eyes, this is no different.

Good luck.

You will have to sort this out with the HR people at work... In matters like this they can over rule the office manager, and can make him provide the appropriate work facilities... If there are space or financial problems involved then the office manager will have to sort it out with the top departmental Managers... His hands might be tied from a budgetary point of view, he has to convince the top brass to increase the budget if possible... At the end of the day is the company likely to want to dispense with your services to save all this hassle... Depends on your value to the firm...