quote:

What Are My Rights?
In 2005 all people with cancer were included in the remit for the Disability Discrimination Act and given new legal protection from the point of first diagnosis of their cancer and additionally small businesses with less than 15 employees - which were previously exempt - are now subject to the DDA.

According to the Act, your employer needs to make certain "reasonable" adjustments to your working hours and practices to help you if you want to keep working. If they fail to do this, you could take your case to a tribunal.

Some possible adjustments could include:

• Allowing time off for medical appointments without it having to be taken off holiday allowance or sick pay
  
• Creating more flexibility in working hours
  
• Allowing extra breaks to cope with tiredness
  
• Changing a job description to take away tasks that might be physically challenging - either temporarily or permanently (depending on employee´s preference)
  
• Allowing some / all work to be done from home
  
• Providing somewhere private for rests or taking medications
  
• Assistance with a phased return to work, whereby hours are gradually increased over a period of time
  
• Moving the place where the employee works e.g. to a ground floor if they have difficulty climbing stairs

The Act says that the employer will be discriminating if a necessary adjustment isn´t made. However, the duty is only to do what is reasonable, and in certain circumstances the employer might be able to refuse to do this because it just isn´t reasonable, based on cost, effectiveness and practicality.

The Act now gives protection in the following areas:

• in the recruitment process
  
• in your terms and conditions of employment
  
• in chances for promotion, transfer, training or other benefits
  dismissal
  
• being unfairly treated in comparison with other workers
  
• harassment or victimisation (for example, about hair loss)

In terms of dismissal, the Act also provides some protection. If you really can no longer do your job then your employer can only dismiss you after a thorough investigation of all the possible reasonable adjustments that could be made.

On working out the cost of cancer, sick pay is something to consider. Anyone earning £84 per week or more is eligible for Statutory Sick Pay (SSP). There is a basic weekly rate, but your employer may decide to pay more than that.

The entitlement is due if you are off sick for more than four days and continues until you either return to work (or leave), or up until the end of a 28 week period. If you return to work and then require a further period of time off sick, the period back at work needs to be at least 8 weeks.

If you are not able to return to work after the 28 week period your employer needs to issue an SSP1 form, which certifies that you have been in receipt of SSP. This can then be used to obtain Incapacity Benefit through the local Job Centre. From 2008 this will be replaced by a new "Employment and Support Allowance" consisting of higher payments for the most severely ill claimants and back to work plans for those capable of some kind of employment. If you need help with personal care while you are off work, you may also be eligible for Disability Living Allowance.

In terms of achieving work-life balance, a cancer diagnosis provides a huge challenge - balancing the need to take care of your health and reduce stress with the stimulation, distraction and connection that work can provide as well as bringing in the income most of us need. Support and information are the keys to achieving this balance - all of which are available from the sources listed below.

Macmillan Benefits Helpline: 0808 801 0304
www.macmillan.org.uk
www.cancerbackup.org.uk/resourcessupport
If you are an employer, Macmillan Cancer Support has also produced a guide and DVD package specifically for employers. A copy can be ordered free from http://www.macmillan.org.uk ,further information on working through cancer can also be found at http://www.macmillan.org.uk/Ge...ngThroughCancer.aspx
www.healthcreationatwork.com
Disability Rights Commission helpline: 08457 143143

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Cancer patients' 'misery at work'

Some cancer patients are facing unfair dismissal and discrimination at work, a BBC investigation has revealed. Some have even been sacked after being refused time off for treatment.

A new law which came into force at the end of last year has given much stronger protection at work to people with serious illnesses like cancer.

But the Disability Rights Commission said 200 cancer patients had called its helpline this year complaining of problems at work.

The commission said these cases are the tip of the iceberg and many more seriously-ill patients are still unaware of their rights.

“ They said the managers were just looking after my interests but I didn't see it that way ”
Hazel Miller
The Disability Discrimination Act, which came into force in December 2005, gives people with cancer and other serious diseases such as multiple sclerosis the right not to be treated unfairly at work because of their condition.

Under the new laws employers must make changes to people's working arrangements, such as time off for treatment or reduced working hours.

These changes - called 'reasonable adjustments' - should ensure cancer patients can return to work in some capacity.

But many people say they have not been offered this option.

Asked to resign

Hazel Miller, from Arbroath, was working as a care assistant in a residential care home when she was diagnosed with breast cancer.

After treatment she wanted to go back to her job.

But, on the morning she was due to start, her employers called asking her to resign, saying they were worried about her welfare.
She refused but a few weeks later her P45 just arrived in the post.

She said: "I feel it was very unfair. They said the managers were just looking after my interests but I didn't see it that way.

"I felt I should have had the chance to go back to work and if I couldn't manage then say, but I didn't even have that chance."

Mrs Miller took her case to an employment tribunal claiming the care home had breached the new law.

Her employers agreed to settle and compensate her.

She said she felt let down by her employers, especially after having gone through so much pain and trauma.

'Genuine concern'

The owners of the nursing home admit they made a mistake but say they were genuinely concerned for Mrs Miller's welfare at work and were unaware of the new law.

The other cases the DRC has handled include a woman working for a major high street retailer who was dismissed because she was not able to give a return date to work after her radiotherapy treatment finished.

Another woman who had a mastectomy was told that time off because of illness or disability was a disciplinary matter and anyone having more than four sickness periods a year would be dismissed.

And a woman who worked for a security firm for 19 years was told she was a "bad investment" because she needed more time off for reconstructive surgery.

Perhaps most shockingly, a woman had a job offer withdrawn by a cancer charity after a medical revealed she had breast cancer six years previously.

Big problem

Agnes Fletcher, from the DRC, said they are shocked at the extent of the discrimination.

"Sometimes employers think a person who's had cancer shouldn't be in work, but it can be very important for people to have the social contact and the income.

"We've had instances of people saying they want to go back to work and employers saying 'I don't want you because you're too much of a risk'. I think that's very sad."

The DRC's helpline has also received a number of calls from employers wanting clarification about the law.

Some employers did not consider members of staff in remission to be covered by the law and others wanted to find out the exact nature of their responsibilities.

Some employers rang asking how long they should keep jobs open for staff diagnosed with cancer; others wanted to know whether time off should be paid.

The DRC said employers need to be more aware of the new laws and their obligations towards staff diagnosed with a serious illness.

It wants the government and employers organisations to help get the message to employers that seriously-ill people are legally entitled to flexibility at work.

Cancer charities are also concerned by the discrimination revealed by the BBC investigation.

Breakthrough Breast Cancer said cancer patients often have to make many visits to hospital for treatment.

That means employers have to be more flexible, but for many cancer patients staying in work really helps them cope with the disease.