My Employer has asked me to take a hearing test.........

Ok Folks,
To cut a long story short, I've notified my Work that I'm not prepared to undergo a hearing test. They are willing to draw a line under the matter.
There's a few other issues that I'll post here in a while.
 
OK folks,
As above, I don't want to take a hearing test, and my Employer can't force me to. I don't think they're too happy, but it's my choice, and I can't see what benefit I ( or indeed they) would get out of it.
I had a chat with the H&S person earlier, she assured me that there was no discrimination, so I had no legal grounds to complain - she said the amount of legal paperwork she had to do meant that she was pretty much a lawyer herself ( I don't know where to begin here, my pet goldfish is more of a lawyer than she is...), and that because I'd mentioned when I started my job that I had hearing issues, they had a duty of care ( which I take to mean covering their arses ) towards me, themselves and Worksafe.
As to why this all happened suddenly can be down to 4 things.


1. That whilst driving a Forklift I had failed to acknowledge a verbal command.

This command was a blast on the horn of a BMW driven by my General Manager. I remember this well. I was backing out of the warehouse with an unstable load on the forks, I remember seeing the car driving up the yard - in effect pulling out on me - and stopped as the car drew past. I was looking in the rear view mirror of the truck, as well as keeping an eye on my load. He obviously thought I didn't see him at all. All this I explained to H&S.


2. That I failed to acknowledge a verbal greeting by the H&S.

This is so f***ing petty to be honest. I was working in the warehouse counting parts at my workbench, as she walked in the door - about 15 feet away, she said Hello. Now,there were 2 other people in the warehouse, there was a Forklift working, and the radio was playing in the background. I said she could have been talking to anyone, didn't reference me by name, and that given the background noise even someone who wasn't HoH would have had trouble.

Do you guys see what idiocy I've had to deal with here?


3. The company has been successfully sued by a previously employee, who alledged that his hearing loss was caused by working in the factory at the same machine for 15 years with minimal protection. He was awarded A$100,000 (about 2 years wages, not much for a permanent work-related injury I reckon)
I'd like to know more about this to be honest.

4. My Supervisor is terrified of me causing an accident. He has just bought a house and doesn't want lose it through being taken to court if found negligent. I kid you not. Some of the other nutcases I've got working with me are far more likely to cause/have an accident than I am.

Amongst the gibbering insanity here, there is actually an element of common sense with regards to the WorkCover ruling regarding Deafness. There's a link here if anyone wants to read it...
WorkCover WA

So all new employees must take a baseline hearing test within the first 12 months oftheir employment. I have no idea why I was exempt, and the H&S admits she doesn't know either.

So I don't know what happens now. In the New Year I'm going to go and see my ENT Specialist and inquire about the possibility of a Stapedectomy. If I was working in a quiet environment I'd be happy with HA's but since I'm classed as a "High Risk" Employee working in my current role with the noise levels, traffic etc then it's something I need to see about.
The other alternative for my Employer is to move me to a role where its much quieter - and I cannot see them doing that at all.

My Wife tells me to when I go back to work on Monday, to just be nice to everyone - including the General Manager - in other words, not to give anyone any grounds for them to fire me. I really doubt they would, but it's so damn quiet (ha!) at work, I could see them doing that, then me having to argue my case for unfair dismissal in the courts.


Jeez Guys I really think I need another job!!!!
 
whiskeyonesix, I am praying for you not to get fire if you want to continue working for this company. I just hate a company or someone fire you just because of your hearing loss. If you want to look for another job, I hope you have good reference from your old company when looking into other jobs for interviews. I just don't like the idea of the interviewer throw the application in the baskets. It would take days, months or even years to find a job if they can hire you without being discrimination. I feel for you on this one. :)
 
Well, I hope I don't get fired either! The mortgage won't pay itself :(

It's a very strange company that I work for anyway. They hired a lot of foreign workers through an overseas agency about 2 years ago - mainly Philipino and Irish guys (The General Manager prefers to hire foreign workers rather than Australians - he says they work harder. I can believe this). When the work fell off about 3 months ago, they laid off a lot of the long-term staff and kept the foreign guys who were here on the working visas. It's a family-owned firm, with no real union presence, so basically they can pretty much do what they like, but this does mean that the company does get taken to court quite alot.
I have stressed to the H&S person, that I'm looking at getting an operation to correct my hearing early next year - as HA's ( or at least the ones I have ) are no good in a noisy environment. If they do get rid of me in the meantime, I shall assume that it's because of my hearing - even if they say otherwise, and they will have to argue it.
But hopefully it won't come to that, so next week, as I said above, I'll just get on with things, be nice to everyone, and keep my head down and my eyes open!

And yes,I'll be able to get a good reference from my previous employer!
 
In these kinds of times with the economy so unstable, I think it makes people do bizarre things.
 
I've made an appointment to see my GP about getting a referral to go back and see the ENT Specialist who advised me to get HA's. The ENT Specialist did say to me ages ago that if HA's didn't work out for me there was always the possibility of a Stapedectomy.
No idea what sort of time frame it would be. If I remember rightly, there was about an 8 month long waiting list just to see the ENT Specialist!

( This is Western Australia, nothing ever happens quickly over here....! )
 
Wow that's a long friggin time to wait to see an ENT. Good luck with that holy crap.
 
Hi Folks,

A bit of an update here...

I've decided to quit working for this Company From Hell. Management are very surprised I'm leaving, but since I'm going to work for their main competitor, for more money than I'm on at present, and i'll working alongside a group of people who i've known - and worked with - for years, they can take a running jump :)

As for the Hearing Issue..... I got the odd comment from them about it, but ever since the Managing Director ( 82 years old and still going ) has had to be fitted with HA's, I haven't had a single comment.

I did ask the MD about his HA's ( I know it's an incredibly personal thing to do but I figured that since I was leaving anyway, it didn't matter :) ) and he said that he didn't go round the factory or drive a forklift or truck anymore because he found it too noisy........ I do that stuff everyday!!! One rule for some and all that....

I leave next week.
 
congrats on your new job- hopefully you wont get anymore BS at your new job. Hopefully the grass is greener on the other side and working for a competior is a good thing.
 
Congrats on your new job and hope it is smooth sailing from there!
 
Congrats on your new job. Don't worry about those idiots from your old job.
 
Happy to hear about the new job. As they say, "Success is the best revenge."
 
Hope you do great in your new job!

whiskeyonesix said:
she said the amount of legal paperwork she had to do meant that she was pretty much a lawyer herself ( I don't know where to begin here, my pet goldfish is more of a lawyer than she is...)
Click to expand...

*to hs lady* Oh... sweetie... in that case my mom's a doctor. *slow nods*:roll: (Granted, she works in a medical lab and the amount they've tacked onto her job description and all the stuff she's learned over the years means that if someone were to come straight off the street and immediately take her job, it's probable the employer would ask for a master's level education... but even she would agree she's not a doctor any more than either that lady or myself are lawyers (I've taken law classes for my education major; that makes me a lawyer, right?:giggle:).)
 
Thanks folks!

Well I finished yesterday, and today went for a drive over to my new place to have a look round and meet everyone before I start on Monday.
I shouldnt have any issues doing the job, I've got a good chap working for me (plus another chap who is frankly an ar%ehole -according to my boss- on sick leave at present) so I'll have semi-decent backup there.
One reservation is that some areas of the place are very noisy (it is Steel Fabrication after all) but I'll have to undergo a full medical assesment once I start so I'm going to raise my concerns then. If my HA's arent coping then I'll have to avoid those areas or my employer will have to work with me on how to get round this. But this is all to come yet..
 
I just read this thread and I wanted to share my perspective. Granted that I don't know the Australian work laws, in the EU the employer is required to have each employee evaluated as medically fit for their job.

Also, that initial evaluation will be used as a benchmark for your periodic health evaluations carried out by the employer, to spot health issues which are work-related (I.e. To avoid to have several employees suffering from hear loss due to a too noisy environment and inadequate PPEs).

I am HoH and never made a mystery out of it with my former employer, nonetheless I felt I was strongly discriminated because of that. For instance, when they carried out my hearing test, the doctor insisted in doing it without my HA (I just wear one because I am completely deaf in the other ear, so I am *always* wearing it). When I asked for explanation - being without HA was *not* like I went to work - I was told they had to evaluate the worst case scenario, where my HA would fail me.

The result was so poor they realized I couldn't have possibly heard an alarm bell, or a crane alarm warning me about stuff moving around. I was an engineer in a power plant and after this medical evaluation I was confined to offices "for my own safety", and I was allowed to go into the actual plant only if accompanied. (However, they wouldn't let me go into machinery during overhauls or climb ladders to go to the top of a tank, anyway).

As long as I was just an intern (18 months), they never cared for a health evaluation and I could roam freely. As soon as they hired me as a contract worker, the limitation set in and in the end they got me working in the Health & Safety department, where I had no training whatsoever, because it was mostly office-bound work.

I quit after 4 years like this since I was seen as a walking liability and my career was thrown to trash just like that.

I hope you will enjoy your new workplace and management!
 
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