Jacqui: There are small adjustments that can probably be made,
very easily, to enable somebody to
continue to work effectively.
Sandy: I received support to return to work,
and actually, after what I had been through, it really felt liberating.
Julia: School were fantastic at supporting me in whatever
I felt I could and couldn’t do and that took a lot of pressure off of me.
Jamie: For me it was great to get back into work, because I had been isolated either in the
hospital or at home. And so it was great,
it was back to normality, it was back to the real world,
it was back to life. The support element of it from work wasn’t
great. I was just back, that was it.
Jamie’s back, he hasn’t died. Fantastic. Crack on and carry on working.
And that was as far as it went and I should have had more than that.
Alison: For a lot of individuals work can be a very important
part of their role and their identity. So therefore remaining in contact with work
or remaining in work if it’s possible during their treatment
can be very important as part of their recovery.
Individuals who have cancer, or who have recovered from cancer,
are protected under the Equality Act. Therefore, it’s very important that employers
provide support and make reasonable adjustments for these
individuals as it is classed as a disability.
Julia: I was first diagnosed with ovarian and womb cancer in 2011.
It was found that it came back in 2012. I wanted to come back just to get into a normal
routine. To do what I love doing
And just feel that life is carrying on as normal
Jacqui: Cancer is not a single disease and the treatment for cancer
is enormously varied. Once their treatment plan has been confirmed
by healthcare professionals, they can then have the conversation
about what that looks like and how their needs at work might vary
depending on the different stages of their treatment.
The expectation of the law is that adjustments will be made,
but not if it’s excessively expensive and not if it would
unduly disrupt the business so the word reasonable is important for employers
and employees to acknowledge, but there is an expectation that if it’s
reasonable, employers will make those adjustments.
Julia: My Head of Department visited me at home and asked me what I felt like doing,
and what my thoughts were, and then just went away and arranged everything
for me.
Alison: Helping somebody return to work doesn’t
have to cost an awful lot of money.
It could be looking at a special type of chair, that might make them more comfortable if they
are having issues with fatigue or with pain.
It might be looking at having micro-breaks in between their work, so that they can get
up and have a walk about and have a stretch.
If there’s any activities that are too strenuous, is there somebody else who could be doing
that part of the job for them?
Julia: I didn’t feel the pressure to go into a
classroom because they took the teaching away from me
and let me do administrative tasks that didn’t involve me
having to stand up for an hour. There was another teacher bought into school
to cover some of my classes. Colleagues certainly did pick up extra tasks
for me, but all I ever heard from them was “How
are you?”, “Are you feeling alright?”.
Colleagues really lifted my spirits.
Meg: It’s important for employers to embrace
the Equality Act, because if they don’t,
potentially they can face very costly
litigation claims at an employment tribunal,
which, if they have an understanding of the act,
could be avoided quite easily by putting simple procedures
and polices in place. We had one situation with a gentleman who
was terminally ill, suffering from spinal cancer.
He needed an ergonomic chair, which would have cost less
than a thousand pounds. He felt the employer wanted to get rid of
him on grounds of disability.
We took the employer to an employment tribunal and
he was awarded a substantial sum of amount of money
to compensate him.
Sandy: My name is Sandy Rowe,
I was diagnosed with acute Myeloid Leukaemia almost two years ago now.
My manager and colleagues were informed of my diagnosis by my daughter at the time
who was in the country staying with me. Actually when I think back with hindsight,
it must have been an awful shock for them.
Kathy: Sandy was the first person I’ve ever line
managed who was diagnosed with cancer.
It was devastating because it was such a shock and
because it was so serious and life threatening.
Sandy: About five months ago I was ready to start
thinking about that whole return back to work.
It took about two months talking between my Consultant and my Manager about how we were
going to approach that because at that time my immune system was still compromised.
Kathy: It was very clear that her contact with other people
had to be very limited. So working from home seemed an obvious starting point.
Sandy: They provided a desk, chair, laptop,
I actually realised how many doors that opened for me.
Just to have that mental engagement again. To start feeling self worth, self esteem and
I really felt encouraged by that.
Kathy: The Occupational Health Team managed the communication
with Sandy from a medical perspective, managing expectations about the length of
the phased return.
Jamie: It’s a real challenge going back into work.
Because you want to get back in to the swing of things
and you want to be able to do as much as you can
but the reality is you can’t.
Jacqui: The treatment for cancer is enormously varied
and the treatment plan changes.
It’s really useful to make sure that they have a regular review
with employees as the treatment progresses.
Julia: Being able to talk to someone on a daily basis
means you can keep them up to date
as you get any new information. And that adds to the support because talking
to someone actually helps clarify the situation in your own mind, I think.
Sandy: I do remember speaking to one of my managers. She was looking through a work diary and she
said, “look I’ve got a really busy week that
week” but she said “what we can do, we can come and do the
work that we need to be doing that day in your kitchen”
They literally came with their laptops and worked all morning
and did their phone calls, and I was laying on the settee
They don’t just see supporting somebody about
getting them back into office, it is more about the person,
how best they can support them to do that.
Alison: For Line Managers who would like further support
with their employees who they think may be struggling
within the work place, then it is important for them to
source out some Occupational Health advice or some Vocational Rehab advice,
depending on what’s available in-house, or whether they need to seek advice outside.
Jamie: For people to get back into work who have been affected by cancer,
the employers, HR, really need to understand, the best way they can,
what that individuals needs are. What their wants are and what their concerns
are. They won’t get them all right, it’s impossible,
because they will change for that person on a daily basis
but if they get a significant amount of those things right,
as a company, then that person will feel wanted, respected,
listened to and it will be beneficial to everybody.
Alison: The benefits of supporting somebody to remain
in work or return to work are very high for employers
as well. It means they don’t need to retrain somebody
else, they have somebody who has a wealth of experience,
who has been in the post already.
Kathy: Sandy is a very specialist and skilled member
of staff. We have invested in her.
Managing Sandy’s return to work was something we were
very motivated to do for both personal and professional reasons.
It made very good business sense.
Jacqui: Some of the side effects of cancer and cancer
treatments can be long lasting, can be permanent
and some actually don’t even occur until sometime
after treatment has been finished. They will need to adjust how they live and
how they work on an ongoing basis.
Kathy: Although Sandy has returned to work full time now,
we still need to be mindful that her capacity isn’t perhaps
fully returned and that will still take some time.
Cancer, it’s different for everybody, so we will be very much
guided by Sandy on that.
Julia: Now that my chemotherapy has ended,
I am going back to school for the new term and I hope to carry on as normal
but my Head of Department has been very flexible and has tried to give me the lightest timetable
possible so that I don’t become too stressed with
a heavy workload and that my workload will still be monitored.
Sandy: I think being open with my manager, as much as I possibly could be,
was important for me and for them. That’s really how they were able to support
me the way they are now.
Julia: I’m just waiting to find out whether I need radiotherapy
and I’m unsure at the moment how that’s going
to affect my workload But what I can be sure of is that my work will
be very supportive. That support really does make a difference.