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The word cancer can sometimes be considered a taboo subject to bring up in the workplace, as employees and employers may shy away from discussing such a sensitive topic in a public environment. However, with figures released by Cancer Research UK showing a 12% increase in the number of cases since the mid-1990s, it’s clear that more support needs to be rolled out for those employees who have any form of the disease.
According to Macmillan Cancer Support in 2018, four in five line managers (87%) are not given any training on how to support people with long-term conditions such as cancer, while research shared by YouGov in the same year revealed that 26% believed that making reasonable adjustments to allow someone to keep working with cancer would be difficult. Similarly, research shared by Unum this year found that upon returning to work, 28% of workers with cancer, or who have had cancer, said they didn’t receive any support or the support they did receive fell below their expectations when they were at work following their diagnosis.
Considering these striking statistics, increased awareness and support is needed within the workplace, so that both employers and HR teams can offer the best care to their staff. Plus, cancer is also covered by the Equality Act 2010 and it protects anyone who currently has or has had a disability, therefore when an employee is diagnosed with cancer they are automatically classified as disabled for the purposes of the act, explained MacMillan’s Working Through Cancer report.
This is something Lisa Townsend, Consultant of Employment Law at Richard Nelson LLP pointed to, stating that employers must also make reasonable adjustments to ensure staff feel comfortable in the workplace. She told HR Grapevine: “Employees with cancer are legally protected against unfair treatment in the workplace. Employers have a duty not only to ensure they treat employees fairly but also to support their employees under the equalities law. Cancer is currently viewed as a disability by UK law, meaning any unfair treatment by an employer is viewed as discrimination.
