TUC ‘Dying to Work charter

Press Release

On Monday 15th October in the Welsh Assembly, Mike Hedges AM has made a commitment, by signing the TUC ‘Dying to Work charter, to support and protect any of their employees who become terminally ill.

Since its launch in April 2016, The TUCs ‘Dying to Work’ Voluntary Charter now protects nearly a million employees with companies such as Legal and General, Santander, Co-Op, Carillion, Rolls Royce, Bombardier, Weetabix and the Royal Mail joining E.On and signing up along with a number of public sector bodies including the entire NHS in Wales and the Welsh Government.

The Dying to Work campaign was set up following the case of Jacci Woodcook, a 58-year-old sales manager from Derbyshire, who was forced out of her job after being diagnosed with terminal breast cancer. The campaign is calling for a change in the law to prevent the same thing happening to other working people.

Labour Party AM for Swansea East, Mike Hedges said: “It is shocking to think that if people with terminal illnesses are dismissed or forced out of their jobs that their loved ones will lose the death in service payments that the employee has planned for and earned through a life-time of hard work.” “That is why I am proud to have signed the TUC ‘Dying to Work’ charter to protect my employees and I will be encouraging businesses in my constituency to follow suit and sign up to the TUC’s voluntary charter.”

Mike Hedges AM continued: “In addition, I hope something will soon be done to ensure that every individual with terminal illness will receive the protection and support they deserve.”

The campaign has also been endorsed by a number of trade unions and charities, including The National Council for Palliative Care, Hospice UK, Breast Cancer Care and Second Hope.

TUC Deputy General Secretary Paul Nowak said: “Serious illness is tough enough without having to put up with extra hassle at work. Everyone can surely agree that terminally-ill workers deserve protection.

“That’s why unions, MPs, Assembly Members, employers and charities are coming together to ensure that workers get the support and protections they need when times are toughest.”

This broad support was demonstrated in a recent Survation poll of over a thousand people which found that 79% of respondents support a ‘protected period’ for terminally ill workers where they could not be dismissed as a result of their condition with only 3% opposing it.

NOTES TO EDITORS:
– The TUC Dying to Work Voluntary Charter states the following:
1. We recognise that terminal illness requires support and understanding and not additional and avoidable stress and worry.
2. Terminally ill workers will be secure in the knowledge that we will support them following their diagnosis and we recognise that safe and reasonable work can help maintain dignity, offer a valuable distraction and can be therapeutic in itself.
3. We will provide our employees with the security of work, peace of mind and the right to choose the best course of action for themselves and their families which helps them through this challenging period with dignity and without undue financial loss.
4. We support the TUC’s Dying to Work campaign so that all employees battling terminal illness have adequate employment protection and have their death in service benefits protected for the loved ones they leave behind.
Survation surveyed 1,019 people online on 2-3 March 2017. Data were weighted to the profile of all UK adults aged 18+. Survation are a member of the British Polling Council and abide by their rules
Q12. Survation asked: Under the Equality Act 2010, employees in the UK cannot be dismissed on the grounds of, amongst others, age, disability, race and pregnancy & maternity. These are known as ‘protected characteristics’. To what extent do you support or oppose ‘terminal illness’ becoming a ‘protected characteristic’ so that an employee with a terminal illness could have a ‘protected period’ where they could not be dismissed as a result?
Data tables of the results are available by request to [email protected]