Being expected to share a locker at work...

[KawaiiSloth]

Hi, I have been working at a hospital as a full-time member of staff for the past year. As of next week, I will just be doing bank shifts and working one or two shifts per week instead. My manager has asked me to hand over my locker and key to one of the new starters who will be full time, so that they can use my locker instead. As a result, I will be left without a locker, even though i'll still be working for one or two days. I'll be expected to share a locker with someone else because apparently there aren't any other available lockers. To make matters worse, the person i'll be sharing a locker with will have the key, not me.

Am I being unreasonable in thinking this is not fair? For starters, we all have different lunch breaks and finish at different times, so how will I be able to access my bag if I can't find the other person who has the key? Secondly, I keep personal items in my bag such as my purse and medication, so I feel very uncomfortable with the idea of sharing a locker with someone else.

Do any of you have advice? I don't think there are any other spare lockers, and if there are, the keys have been lost. My manager is adamant that I hand over my locker to one of the new starters, even though I'll still be working there as a bank member of staff.

 

[BettyCrockerr]

Hi, I have been working at a hospital as a full-time member of staff for the past year. As of next week, I will just be doing bank shifts and working one or two shifts per week instead. My manager has asked me to hand over my locker and key to one of the new starters who will be full time, so that they can use my locker instead. As a result, I will be left without a locker, even though i'll still be working for one or two days. I'll be expected to share a locker with someone else because apparently there aren't any other available lockers. To make matters worse, the person i'll be sharing a locker with will have the key, not me.

Am I being unreasonable in thinking this is not fair? For starters, we all have different lunch breaks and finish at different times, so how will I be able to access my bag if I can't find the other person who has the key? Secondly, I keep personal items in my bag such as my purse and medication, so I feel very uncomfortable with the idea of sharing a locker with someone else.

Do any of you have advice? I don't think there are any other spare lockers, and if there are, the keys have been lost. My manager is adamant that I hand over my locker to one of the new starters, even though I'll still be working there as a bank member of staff.

It’s not appropriate to expect you to share a locker with anyone but particularly someone you don’t even know and as you say, someone who won’t be working the same shifts etc - it’s ridiculous! And it works both ways - will the new staff member be comfortable with you having access to the locker and all of their own stuff???
go over your managers head - go to whoever is more senior and explain that your manager is not providing a secure place for you to store your personal belongings and ask for it in writing that if any of your things go missing that they are going to be held responsible.

 

[jharpz]

Just to play devil's advocate, I can see your manager's point. Imagine you were starting a post to be told there was no locker because a bank staff member has their own locker and they are only there fortnightly?
Can your manager not ask estates to break open the lockers and fit new locks if the keys are lost? Then perhaps have a locker for bank staff?
We have a folder with each locker number, who owns it and spare keys live in there too. We then have a locker for the radiographers, four for students nurses, two for medical students, two for bank staff (they all have their own keys) and a certain amount for the registrars.

 

[newtoyou]

I used to be in charge of the lockers at my work (exciting I know). If there are lost keys, they should just be able to order some more from whoever they got them from in the first place. There should be a little serial number next to the key hole which is also on the actual key.

But to your actual problem, I can understand giving a full time staff member a locker but it must be really annoying to have to give yours up. At the very least they should have another key cut so you don’t have to chase this person around looking for a key.

 

[thatstupidcat]

Surely the other member of staff won’t want to share?

People like to leave their lunch and work gubbins in those things (so would there even be room for your stuff), notwithstanding inevitable bickering as things “go missing” or get “borrowed”. I remember the great Medicine Screaming Match of 2016 which involved a shared office pedestal or the yet to be forgotten Missing Dog Trophies and Statuettes of ‘18 which featured a large locker held to ransom by someone who had gone on longterm sick leave.

I agree with previous posters - try to go over your supervisor’s head. Maybe ask for a key amnesty for people who aren’t working onsite (maybe on secondment elsewhere - those people take up so much room even when they are not working on your site for years) or on maternity / long term sick leave?

ETA ask them what would happen if Covid social bubbling / distancing tightens again - would you lose a locker entirely?