Council to support terminally ill employees
Council bosses have agreed to sign up to an initiative to help support employees who are diagnosed with terminal illness.
Walsall Council’s personnel committee met on Monday to discuss the TUC Dying to Work Voluntary Charter.
The initiative is part of the TUC’s campaign to change the law and see ‘terminal illness’ as a protected characteristic and provided a period of time where they cannot be dismissed as a result of their condition.
Council leader and committee chairman Mike Bird said supporting staff at difficult times in their lives was something they should do.
But he called for clear guidelines to be drawn up within Walsall on issues such as extending full sick pay in cases of terminal illness to ensure all staff were treated sensitively and fairly.
A report to committee said: “There is no one solution fit for every employee receiving a terminal illness diagnosis and Walsall Council has a proven track record of treating employees with dignity and compassion, as described above, when this situation arises.
“Employees are supported and furnished with information that enables them and their family to make informed decisions on how they want to deal with their employment e.g. death in service or ill health retirement and associated benefits.
“Human Resources have reviewed the TUC literature regarding the Dying to Work Campaign and concluded that it is a positive initiative, providing a commitment to employees diagnosed with a terminal illness and overall reflects current practice across the council.”
Councillor Bird said: “If we have people with terminal illness then we should look at supporting them as best we can as a caring employer.
“I strongly support this but we need clear guidelines on eligibility and how we do this. Yes, we should sign up to this but ensure they are no grey areas in how we adopt it.”
By Gurdip Thandi - Local Democracy Reporter
