Open-access content
1st June 2016
Few employers have plans in place to deal with staff who have a cancer diagnosis, a survey of 500 human resources professionals has found.
Among respondents, 71% said they had no policies for communications with, or management of, employees with cancer, while 48% thought line managers were unprepared for this eventuality.
More than half though thought the line manager relationship was the most important form of support for employees with cancer. In cases where staff with cancer were able to return to work, 61% of employers had no policies in place to manage them and 71% said their organisations provided no information on cancer awareness, while 44% did not offer cancer screening services as a health benefit or plan to do so.
Some 46% thought all affected staff should be obliged to tell their employer that they had the condition, contrary to current legislation.
The report Cancer in the Workplace 2016 was commissioned by Check4Cancer - a private provider of early cancer detection services - which said it highlighted that managers and human resources staff were expected to respond to highly emotional and sensitive situations, where there were low levels of recognition among senior executives for the potential implications of cancer in the workplace, with 40% doubting senior staff were aware of the potential risks and costs.
Professor Gordon Wishart, chief medical officer of Check4Cancer, said: "Employers appear to be relying on their managers' ability to think on their feet, and to treat cancer diagnoses as just another people management issue.
"Diagnosis of cancer is clearly a very serious health issue - but also one that has long-term implications for the individual and their team members, colleagues and friends in the workplace."
Improved survival rates now meant that cancer had become "more like a chronic illness, requiring long-term attention and treatment, alongside appropriate support from employers as part of their duty of care, and for cancer as a recognised disability," Professor Wishart said.
More than half though thought the line manager relationship was the most important form of support for employees with cancer. In cases where staff with cancer were able to return to work, 61% of employers had no policies in place to manage them and 71% said their organisations provided no information on cancer awareness, while 44% did not offer cancer screening services as a health benefit or plan to do so.
Some 46% thought all affected staff should be obliged to tell their employer that they had the condition, contrary to current legislation.
The report Cancer in the Workplace 2016 was commissioned by Check4Cancer - a private provider of early cancer detection services - which said it highlighted that managers and human resources staff were expected to respond to highly emotional and sensitive situations, where there were low levels of recognition among senior executives for the potential implications of cancer in the workplace, with 40% doubting senior staff were aware of the potential risks and costs.
Professor Gordon Wishart, chief medical officer of Check4Cancer, said: "Employers appear to be relying on their managers' ability to think on their feet, and to treat cancer diagnoses as just another people management issue.
"Diagnosis of cancer is clearly a very serious health issue - but also one that has long-term implications for the individual and their team members, colleagues and friends in the workplace."
Improved survival rates now meant that cancer had become "more like a chronic illness, requiring long-term attention and treatment, alongside appropriate support from employers as part of their duty of care, and for cancer as a recognised disability," Professor Wishart said.
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