Peter’s manager was trying to get hold of me urgently. I left a routine meeting to take the call. One of the longer term members of his team had recently become a dad (for the third time) but just a few weeks later (yesterday) he and his wife had learned that a routine blood test had revealed that his wife had leukaemia. The manager asked if it would be ok to give him a period of compassionate leave. Of course it would – and we’ll pay him. Not an issue. Then what?
So began a long journey of supportive phone calls, meetings, and various other forms of assistance that we provided to help Peter and his family cope with what was happening. A lot of what we did was done out of basic compassion for a colleague. But what should employers do in these circumstances – what is essential and what is good practice?
Let’s start with the essential: there are various pieces of legislation that employers should be aware of:
Good practice is to have a Carers Policy. Too often, when there is no policy in place, employees wrongly believe their caring role isn’t a legitimate reason to request leave, or they may not feel comfortable disclosing their caring role because they believe it might impact their career or their perceived commitment. But being a carer is increasingly a part of life – whether it’s caring for someone with cancer or another form of illness or disability - and should not affect longer-term job prospects.
At a time when an individual might be dealing with unforeseen crises, short notice medical appointments, conflicting priorities and exhausting emotions, a clear policy will provide reassurance as well as guidance for everyone to follow. If you would like to see an example of a cancer policy, we have just developed a template you might like to use. Visit macmillan.org.uk/employer
Other examples of good practice are to signpost carers to sources of financial advice, for example, about benefits and pensions, and allowing carers some ad hoc unpaid time off when the person they are caring for is unwell. Macmillan’s benefits advisers provide advice to carers and can be contacted on the support line (0808 808 00 00).
Finally, why not introduce a buddying scheme to provide support to carers? Some organisations already provide these for employees who have a cancer, but a network of buddies could prove just as effective for carers. For guidelines on setting up your own scheme visit macmillan.org.uk/employer
Do you have a question about work and cancer? Email us on workandcancer@macmillan.org.uk.
