Employers are unaware of changes to disability discrimination law which protect workers with cancer, according to the Disability Rights Commission (DRC).
The change, which came into force last year, means that workers with long-term health conditions such as cancer, multiple sclerosis and HIV are considered disabled from the point of diagnosis.
Before the change to the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) employers could dismiss workers with long-term health conditions because their condition did not affect their ability to carry out normal activities
But figures from the DRC’s helpline show that since December 2005 the Commission has taken, on average, two calls a week from women with breast cancer complaining of unfair treatment at work.
In total, more than 70 women with breast cancer and 103 people with other forms of cancer have called the DRC helpline complaining of problems with their employers.
Examples of the experiences that women with breast cancer have related to the DRC include:
- a woman working for a major high street retailer dismissed because she was not able to give a date to return to work after her radiotherapy treatment finished
- a care assistant in a residential home wanting to return to work after having breast cancer but instead being asked to resign and subsequently receiving her P45 in the post
- a woman who worked for a security firm for 19 years being told she was a ‘bad investment’ because she needed more time off for reconstructive surgery.
The DDA requires employers to make ‘reasonable adjustments’ for people with disabilities. For workers with cancer, reasonable adjustments may include flexible working, alterations to working hours and time off for medical treatment.
But 82 per cent of callers with other forms of cancer said employers had failed to make reasonable adjustments to keep them in work.
Nearly one in five callers reported having been dismissed. A further 13 per cent of callers complained of facing threats of dismissal and nearly 6 per cent were facing disciplinary action.
Under the DDA it is unlawful for employers to treat a disabled person or a person with a long- term health condition unfairly because of their disability.
Agnes Fletcher, assistant director of communications at the DRC said: “Despite changes in the law to protect people with cancer and long-term health conditions from unfair treatment at work, many employers still haven’t got the message.
“Direct discrimination and failures to make adjustments is turning the world of work into a very hostile environment for workers with these disabilities.”
Figures released by the Office of National Statistics last month show that one in three people will develop cancer in their lives – and 26 per cent will be under the age of 60.
