F Is for Fiona

I drove into the store car park. Stopped in my usual place, the one which said 'MAN' in bold letters on the tarmac, short for manager of course. Just for a moment I shivered despite the warm spring weather, this was honestly the first time the incongruity of that label struck me.

I pulled on the handbrake, looking down at my hand as I pulled. The three rather fancy rings, the long nails, brought home to me the true realisation of just what I was about to do. I did wonder at that moment if I'd taken leave of my senses, OK, I'd done my homework, given Human Resources a full period of notice of what I planned to do, as required by law. Not criminal law, that is, there was no way what I'd planned could be described as actually 'breaking the law' as in committing a crime. But civil law or employment law. I'd needed to be sure they couldn't take any action against me, sack me or suspend me or anything like that.

When I told them they'd been surprised. Hell, of course they were. But I'd quoted the precedent, the case which had gone through the courts. Jenny Tucker, her name was, or rather is now. She'd done the same thing as me, the first case like that in the UK. She worked for a rival chain store, in Gateshead. But I'd carefully read the judgement, I knew damn well my situation was similar, nearly identical even. OK so a different store but the same area, a similar employment level, she was a section head in their store. I was a manager but the same rules had to apply.

I reached across for my handbag, still thinking, still wondering if I could back out. Save face in some way, there were going to be problems ahead, I knew. Not everyone on my staff would agree, I'd get the whispers and so on. But I so wanted this, I'd taken the plunge. Head Office had sent three different people down that previous fortnight. The first two were all for persuading me not to go ahead, they were threatening me almost. But I'd just thrown the case details and my own doctor's comments back at them. By the end of the second guy's visit they knew that if there were problems they could be liable. The company had an obligation to look after my 'Health and Safety at Work'.