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Dealing with colleague's body odour
My partner was recently promoted to supervisor, and inherited an embarrassing issue. One of his staff members has a problem with B.O. She's been spoken to by several people in the company, but nothing has changed.
His other staff have said that they will leave if this issue isn't resolved. One is facing disciplinary proceedings after writing her a letter telling her she smells.
The other staff members have a right to a pleasant working environment and she is directly impacting on that. What can he do?
Thanks,
Jeni
Ooh - this is a difficult one, I don't envy your poor partner.
Basically, you can't really 'discipline' someone as such for body odour. Do they know why she has this problem - is it poor hygiene, or does it stem from an illness? If the latter, it might conceivably be a symptom of a disability, in which case your partner will need to find out more information about the condition before taking any action.
I'd suggest in the first instance, he has a chat with the woman concerned. He can try to find out more about the background, and establish whether there are any underlying factors. She can then be told that things cannot be allowed to continue in this way, and that she really does need to sort herself out or more formal action may be required. He should keep a note of the conversation on her file.
Best of luck to him!
Rachel
Live Q&A on Ask The Expert
Employment lawyer Rachel Lewis advises on your work-related issues:
Basically, you can't really 'discipline' someone as such for body odour. Do they know why she has this problem - is it poor hygiene, or does it stem from an illness? If the latter, it might conceivably be a symptom of a disability, in which case your partner will need to find out more information about the condition before taking any action.
I'd suggest in the first instance, he has a chat with the woman concerned. He can try to find out more about the background, and establish whether there are any underlying factors. She can then be told that things cannot be allowed to continue in this way, and that she really does need to sort herself out or more formal action may be required. He should keep a note of the conversation on her file.
Best of luck to him!
Rachel
Live Q&A on Ask The Expert
Employment lawyer Rachel Lewis advises on your work-related issues:
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