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Schedule 1 of the Equality Act 2010 says in one sentence that "Cancer, HIV infection and multiple sclerosis are each a disability", so protection applies from the moment of diagnosis rather than when the illness starts to limit anything. That brings the employer's duty to make reasonable adjustments, and Statutory Sick Pay of £123.25 a week for up to 28 weeks.
The statutory basis, read from the Act itself. The general definition of disability in section 6 of the Equality Act 2010 requires a physical or mental impairment with a substantial and long-term adverse effect on the ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities. Schedule 1, Part 1, paragraph 6(1) removes that test for three conditions: "Cancer, HIV infection and multiple sclerosis are each a disability." A person is therefore protected from the date of diagnosis, whether or not they feel unwell, whether or not they have had treatment, and whether or not anyone can see that anything is wrong. Protection continues afterwards, because the Act also covers discrimination because of a past disability. In Northern Ireland, which has its own equality legislation, the corresponding protection sits under the Disability Discrimination Act 1995.
What the protection consists of. Direct discrimination, discrimination arising from disability, indirect discrimination, harassment and victimisation are prohibited across recruitment, pay, promotion, training, benefits and dismissal. The distinctive duty is the duty to make reasonable adjustments, which is an obligation to change the arrangement rather than a right to be treated identically. Macmillan's employment material sets out what this looks like in a workplace and makes two practical points that the statute does not: you are not obliged to tell your employer, and an employer cannot make adjustments it does not know are needed, so the protection is real but is usually triggered by telling someone. It also notes that carers have some protection from discrimination by association.
The adjustments that are commonly asked for and commonly granted: reduced or changed hours, a phased return building hours back up over weeks, time off for appointments, working from home, removing specific duties, a parking space or a change of location to shorten a commute, and a referral to occupational health. A phased return is the normal shape of going back after extended sick leave rather than an unusual concession. What counts as reasonable depends on the job, the cost, how practical the change is and how much it helps, which is why the answer differs between a large employer and a small one.
The money while off work. Statutory Sick Pay is £123.25 a week for up to 28 weeks, paid by the employer, where a contractual sick pay scheme does not pay more; many employers' own schemes do. A fit note from a general practitioner or hospital doctor is the document that supports sick leave and can also state that a person may be fit for work with adjustments, which is the mechanism behind a phased return. Access to Work, a government scheme operating in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, can fund equipment and in some circumstances help with the cost of getting to work.
What this record does not cover, and where to go instead. It does not cover self-employment, for which Statutory Sick Pay does not apply and the relevant route is the benefits system. It does not list benefits, because the list is long, changes often and is best taken from a benefits adviser or a charity helpline; the corpus carries cancer-specific versions for several cancers. And it is not legal advice: where someone believes they have been treated unfairly, the usual sequence is to raise it with the employer, then with the conciliation service, Citizens Advice or a trade union, and employment tribunal time limits are short.
Deeming cancer a disability from diagnosis closes the gap that the general definition leaves open. Under the ordinary test a person would have to show that the impairment had a substantial and long-term adverse effect, which is hard to demonstrate in the weeks between diagnosis and treatment and precisely the period in which they are most likely to be managed out of a job. The deeming provision removes the argument.
Query for this technology: (TITLE:"Employment rights with cancer in the United Kingdom" OR ABSTRACT:"Employment rights with cancer in the United Kingdom") AND (cancer OR tumor OR tumour OR oncology OR carcinoma OR lymphoma OR leukemia OR leukaemia OR myeloma OR sarcoma OR melanoma OR glioma). Results are unfiltered search hits about Employment rights with cancer in the United Kingdom, not a curated reading list.
Shares Money after treatment: what the cost of cancer does once the treatment has finished, Quality of life, Survivorship care and late-effects surveillance, Survivorship and late effects are neglected and the tags rejuvenation, survivorship, psychosocial.
Shares Quality of life, Survivorship care and late-effects surveillance, Survivorship and late effects are neglected, Diffuse large B-cell lymphoma and the tags rejuvenation, survivorship, psychosocial.
Shares Quality of life, Survivorship care and late-effects surveillance, Survivorship and late effects are neglected, HR-positive / HER2-negative breast cancer and the tags rejuvenation, survivorship, psychosocial.
Shares Quality of life, Survivorship care and late-effects surveillance, Survivorship and late effects are neglected, HR-positive / HER2-negative breast cancer and the tags rejuvenation, survivorship, psychosocial.
Shares Quality of life, Survivorship care and late-effects surveillance, Survivorship and late effects are neglected, HR-positive / HER2-negative breast cancer and the tags rejuvenation, survivorship, psychosocial.
Shares Quality of life, Survivorship care and late-effects surveillance, Survivorship and late effects are neglected, HR-positive / HER2-negative breast cancer and the tags rejuvenation, survivorship, psychosocial.
Shares Quality of life, Survivorship and late effects are neglected, HR-positive / HER2-negative breast cancer, Prostate cancer and the tags rejuvenation, survivorship, psychosocial.
Shares Quality of life, Survivorship and late effects are neglected, HR-positive / HER2-negative breast cancer, Prostate cancer and the tags rejuvenation, survivorship, psychosocial.