Going back to work, sometimes after many months with relatively little contact with your employer, can be a scary time. Some people’s diagnosis and/or physiology allows them to work during some – or even most – of their cancer treatment so returning to work is less of an issue. But for many, this simply isn’t the case.
So it’s important to formally plan an employee’s return to work a few weeks…
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…
After the rollercoaster journey of receiving a cancer diagnosis and treatment, many cancer survivors and their employers believe that after a return to work plan has been agreed and a few reasonable adjustments have been made, life will be pretty much back to normal in a few weeks.
However, this can be a particularly difficult time for those recovering from cancer, often made worse by the feeling that support is no longer…
This month, the Work and Cancer team received the following question from an employer:
How can a manager support a team feeling under pressure while covering someone’s absence due to cancer?
Usually this type of situation arises for one of three reasons.
This month, we asked Barbara:
What should an employer consider when making reasonable adjustments for an employee living with cancer?
Following a cancer diagnosis, most people need time off work for treatment. This could last for several weeks or months. Whilst most cancers have a typical ‘care pathway’, every person is unique in terms of their cancer journey, their treatment and when they feel ready to return to work…
