Nhs Direct Uk

Topic of cancer: dealing with the issue of cancer in the workplace

The stigma around cancer has started to diminish, thanks to greater awareness and education, as well as improved survival rates. And the Equality Act protects employees with cancer from discrimination, so, legally, they are not required to inform their employer they have disease.

But this means if an employee does not tell his or her manager about the illness and it affects their ability to work, it can lead to disciplinary action - and the law does not require the employer to make any adjustment for the employee if it is unaware of the situation.

So while the employer must make 'reasonable adjustments' to support employees who do report their illness, how can it best uphold its duty of care? And if the employer does discover an employee has cancer, where does it seek help or advice?

Line managers need staff permission to contact medical professionals and, with long-term absence a strong possibility, there are cost factors involved too.

"Losses to the economy due to cancer survivors who are unable to return to work amount to £5.3 billion, but losses to individual employers are difficult to measure," explains Mark Ratnarajah, business development manager at Capita Wellbeing and Health.

"The direct recruitment cost of a new position is £4,300 per employee and it takes time to recruit - six to 11 weeks. There are also indirect costs, unique to an organisation, such as loss of productivity, intellectual property and knowledge. It is a significant expense," adds Ratnarajah.

Employee engagement, he believes, is at the core of the matter, given approximately four out of 10 people are diagnosed with cancer in their working lives - and at least 50% have to change their jobs or leave work because of this.

Ratnarajah explains: "It is very much about the culture of the organisation and about the confidence employees have in talking freely about these matters.

"Some people may be embarrassed by some of the consequences of treatment, such as hair loss or weight gain. These can result in discrimination. So it is important employers provide some sort of facility - such as an employee assistance programme - or some form of counselling or support network."

Just over a third (36%) of employees in the private sector have occupational health benefits. Such access to vocational rehabilitation, physiotherapy, workplace assessment or symptom relief means people feel more supported to deal with the reality, physical and mental, of cancer.

Press release: NHS Direct Action and UK Uncut protest at HSBC AGM ...

A recent BBC investigation found that HSBC used a tax loophole to divert millions of pounds of NHS money into a Guernsey 'tax haven'. In 2010, a company set up by HSBC made more than £38 million from its 33 PFI hospital-building schemes and paid £100,000 in UK tax - less than half of 1% of the profits [3]. Describing such practices as 'scandalous', former Oxford MP Dr Evan Harris called for new rules to stop NHS money being sent to tax havens [4].

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