Nearly 1 in 2 people born after 1961 in the UK will receive a cancer diagnosis in their lifetime. Unfortunately, that means that every workplace will likely be affected one day.
A cancer diagnosis can turn an employee’s life upside down, bringing uncertainty and fear. As a manager, it can be difficult to know how to support your employees best to ensure you treat them with compassion and respect, as well as meet your legal obligations to them.
In this guide, we’ll help you navigate supporting employees with cancer – from the very first conversation you have with them. We’ll discuss what support you should give them and what you must do to protect their health at work. We’ll also look at how to communicate a cancer diagnosis to other colleagues and how you can build a health-supportive workplace culture. We’ll also give you guidance on effectively supporting employees with cancer, ensuring they receive the help they need during difficult times.
The first conversation: approaching a cancer diagnosis
If your employee tells you that they have been diagnosed with cancer, it can be hard to know what to say to be helpful. The main thing to remember when supporting an employee with cancer is that you should demonstrate that you are actively listening to what they are saying. This might include offering them a tissue and having open body language that helps them feel at ease.
After learning of an employee’s cancer diagnosis, it’s really important to focus on supporting employees with cancer through compassionate conversations.
Try not to prepare too much for this meeting. Be ready to listen to them and focus on how they are feeling. Macmillan suggests asking questions when your employee shares information with you, but try to keep these questions focused only on what you need to know to ensure you can support them properly.
You might find that your employee gets emotional and your meeting runs over. It can be upsetting for everyone involved, but it’s important to try to stay calm for your colleague. On the other hand, your employee may not have much to say at this stage, and the meeting might end swiftly. Try not to ask probing questions – just let them know that you are here to support them. You may want to try to arrange another meeting in a few days or weeks, when they might feel more ready to talk.
Understanding your organisation’s policies
Reviewing your organisation’s policies is a big step in supporting employees with cancer compassionately.
Do you have a company critical illness policy? If not, you could consider setting one up. A critical illness policy usually pays an employee a tax-free lump sum if they are diagnosed with a critical illness, so they don’t have to worry about their finances while they’re going through treatment.
Managing sickness absence for an employee with cancer might look different to managing short-term sickness. There are a few things you should do to manage it:
- Track when and why your employee is off work, making a note when it’s a sick day or for a hospital appointment
- Consider whether to offer enhanced company sick pay
- Think about changing procedure, e.g. changing how often the employee needs to keep in touch while off sick
Many organisations use trigger points to manage absence, which is very effective for short-term sickness absence. However, an employee with cancer is likely to hit these trigger points very quickly. And, as cancer is considered a disability under the Equality Act 2010, you need to make reasonable adjustments to ensure they are not being discriminated against. This is where occupational health can be useful to help you assess your employee’s needs.
The role of occupational health
Regular feedback from employees with cancer is a big part of making sure that the support provided is effective and meaningful.
Occupational health can help you understand the reasonable adjustments you should make for your employee. However, you need your employee’s consent to obtain a medical report from an occupational health expert.
If your employee gives their consent, you can arrange for them to meet with an occupational health specialist who will compile a report. The specialist should assess your employee’s needs and outline adjustments you should make to support them while they are undergoing treatment.
Some employees might feel uneasy about allowing occupational health access to their medical records and meeting with them. You shouldn’t force them to agree, but explain to your employee that the medical report aims to allow you to collaborate with them on a plan to support their wellbeing at work.
Actively supporting employees with cancer demonstrates your genuine commitment to their wellbeing – not just what their productivity means for business.
Making reasonable adjustments for employees with cancer
Once you have a clearer understanding of your employee’s needs, you can look to make reasonable adjustments for them. Cancer is classed as a disability and is therefore a protected characteristic under the Equality Act 2010, so you must ensure that you don’t discriminate against any employee because of their cancer diagnosis.
Your employee is likely to have lots of doctor and hospital appointments during working hours, and they may have periods of feeling very unwell and tired during their treatment. It’s important to consider what reasonable adjustments you can make to remove any potential barriers to work and other employer support for those working, such as:
- Allowing them to work from home, either full-time or in a hybrid capacity
- Reducing their working hours so they have more time to rest
- Adjusting their working hours so they can work around their medical appointments
- Offering more frequent and/or longer breaks
- Adapting their duties, so they don’t have to do heavy lifting or be on their feet for long periods
- Make physical changes such as offering a parking space closer to the entrance, adding handrails or ensuring the lift is maintained and functions properly
Making changes for your employee is not only your legal responsibility, but it’s also the right thing to do. Many people find that going to work gives people with cancer a sense of normality to their life, and can even help with recovery, according to Macmillan.
Communicating a cancer diagnosis to colleagues
At some stage, you will need to ask your employee whether they want to tell their colleagues about their diagnosis. It’s important to respect their privacy – not everyone will want to share it with the team.
When it feels right, ask them if they want other people in your organisation to know about their diagnosis. If they do, discuss how they would like everyone to be told. Some may prefer for you to tell the team, while others may want to tell their colleagues themselves.
It’s important to be led by your employee in communicating the diagnosis to the rest of the team. If they seem too upset to continue talking about plans to tell other colleagues, offer to take a break and revisit the subject at another time.
The impact of cancer on employees in the workplace
Cancer has a huge physical, emotional and financial impact on the person who has received a diagnosis, and as an employer, you have a duty to support them at work. But it’s also worth remembering that it can have a big impact on other members of your team too.
Your employee’s colleagues may be very upset to find out that their friend has cancer, and it may bring up emotions for them if they, or a family member or friend, have had cancer in the past.
If you have an employee assistance programme (EAP), it’s worth reminding all members of staff that they have access to things like counselling and telephone support lines to help them if they are feeling overwhelmed by the news. If you don’t have an EAP, you could signpost your team to services that may be able to help them, such as Macmillan or any local organisations.
Extending support to an employee’s family
A cancer diagnosis affects the person’s entire family and support network. While you have no legal obligations to the employee’s family, it can help your employee feel able to stay at work and feel better supported if you also consider the impact their diagnosis has on their family.
Some ways that you can extend support to your employee’s family include:
- Allowing them access to your EAP for counselling or mental health support
- Sharing resources about support groups or charities that may help
- Involving them in return-to-work plans and check-in meetings
- Simply recognising and acknowledging the role family members play in supporting the employee
Always respect your employee’s boundaries regarding how much they want you to be involved with their family. Make sure you always get consent before you involve family members in any discussions.
Returning to work after cancer treatment
Ongoing support for employees with cancer is key when it comes to maintaining their morale in the workplace.
Many employees won’t be able to carry on working while they receive treatment, so they may have to take long-term sick leave. But after their treatment ends and they have had some time to recover, they may feel ready to come back to work.
It may feel daunting to someone to return to work after a long period of leave, so it’s crucial that you take steps to make your employee’s return easier. One way to do this is to keep in touch while they are off work – but make sure you also give them space to recover. When they’re ready, talk to them about creating a return-to-work plan.
A return-to-work plan should include what support your employee will need to help them come back to work safely. A key way to help them transition back into work is to offer a phased return.
A phased return will look different for every employee. Some may feel that they can gradually work up to their usual working hours over weeks or months but return immediately to their usual duties, while others may need to take on fewer responsibilities or less physically demanding jobs.
Once your employee is ready to start talking about returning to work, there are a few steps you can take to make the process easier:
- Organise a meeting: Meeting with your employee can help you create a return-to-work plan and give you an opportunity to update them on what’s been happening at your organisation.
- Discuss the adjustments required: Talk about what your employee needs to help them return to work, such as a phased return, different responsibilities or a change in working location.
- Prepare an induction: It can be overwhelming for the employee when they first come back to work. Help them ease back into their role by preparing an induction plan and checking in with them regularly to make sure they are comfortable with the adjustments you’ve made for them.
- Consider doing a risk assessment: If you’ve had to change your employee’s role or working conditions, it’s a good idea to conduct a risk assessment to ensure there are no new risks or hazards in their role or working environment.
Working with cancer: ongoing support
In many cases, people may want to continue working during their cancer treatment if they feel well enough. As we’ve already discussed, to protect your employee from discrimination you must make reasonable adjustments to support them.
It can be helpful to use a similar structure to a return-to-work plan to help support your employee with cancer, even if they don’t plan on taking long-term sick leave. Meet with your employee to discuss things like:
- What the risks are if they continue working through treatment
- Whether they will need to work less during periods of treatment
- What kind of adjustments may need to be made to their job role
- Who could help at work in practical ways while they undergo treatment
Ultimately, supporting employees with cancer is about building a resilient and understanding workplace culture.
Remember, employees with cancer have the right to be treated in the same way as those who don’t when they’re at work. This applies to their employment terms, recruitment and promotion opportunities.
To ensure that you don’t unknowingly discriminate against an employee with cancer, it can be helpful to review the adjustments you have made for them and check in with them regularly. Employees who are in remission from cancer still have the same protective rights.
What to do if your employee’s return to work seems unlikely
Sadly, many people with cancer will be unable to return to work. You should explore all options for helping your employee return to work, but in some cases, you may need to consider ending their employment. If they are old enough, they may be able to retire early on medical grounds. If not, you could consider ill health dismissal.
It’s crucial that you follow the correct procedure to avoid discrimination and unfair dismissal claims, so you must have a justifiable reason why you can’t continue to employ your colleague.
You should ensure that your sickness policy includes a procedure for what happens if your employee’s cancer is terminal or if they are too unwell to return to work. This should include how you will support your employee in ending their employment, which may consist of financial support.
If your employee doesn’t have long to live, it’s reasonable to decide not to put them through medical capability assessments and simply offer support where you can.
Support systems for employees with cancer and building a cancer-supportive workplace
As most workplaces are likely to be affected by cancer in some way, it makes sense to build a company culture that encourages openness and empathy and promotes wellbeing. Then, if one of your employees is diagnosed with cancer, there are already support systems in place to help them.
Employee assistance programmes (EAPs) are a great way to ensure that your employees have access to support when they need it. EAPs typically include access to counselling and telephone lines for financial or legal advice. As they’re run by a third party, this can often help employees feel happier to use them as they are confidential.
As well as EAPs, working on your company culture can help employees feel supported by you as their employer and their peers. Build a culture of trust among your team by letting them know that they can talk about their difficulties without fear of judgement or discrimination. It can help to run training and awareness sessions about cancer and other health conditions so employees understand that they can talk about it freely.
The key to workplace culture transformation is to listen to what your team has to say and communicate with them openly. Your management team should lead by example and be willing to talk about cancer and difficult subjects if you want your employees to do the same.
How we can help in supporting employees with cancer
At Fitzgerald, we understand that it can be overwhelming when one of your team members is diagnosed with cancer. From helping you with your policies and procedures to collaborating with occupational health specialists, our outsourced HR services can help you support your employees in the way they deserve.
Book a free consultation or call us on 0330 223 5253 to see how we can help your business with our specialist HR services.
Further reading
Reasonable Adjustments: Disability Management | HR Company
