Legal Rights of Employees with Cancer: A Report on UK Legislation

Desklib provides past papers and solved assignments for students. This report examines UK employment law and disability discrimination.

Legal Aspects of Business
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Table of Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................3
Main body..................................................................................................................................4
Conclusion................................................................................................................................10
Reference list............................................................................................................................11
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Introduction
There is a dire need for the organisation to maintaining the laws as well as legislations
concerning the protection of the rights of the employees. The legal factors of UK display
several laws that protect the rights of employees that promote the growth of the business. The
Equality Act 2010 ensures that the employees of an organisation have to be protected from
discrimination within the workplace. The main protected characteristics of equality Act 2010
include age, genders, civil partnerships, pregnancy, as well as sexual orientation. This has
high reliance with the protection of disability in the workplaces and allows employees to
share their views as well as opinions in a holistic environment.
The study will be encompassing various aspects of Employment Act 1946 as well as Equality
Act 2010 (Weber, 2015). An employee suffering from cancer shall be facing several long-
term physical as well as mental impairments that can affect the operational procedures and
result in downfall of the productivity as well as efficiency. However, the Discrimination Act
receives a detailed comprehension of the various aspects of employee rights that has to be
maintained by Alex in order to provide safety and security to the hardworking employee,
James.
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Main body
The sufferance of James in the past 4 weeks has caused severe concerns, as James is one of
the oldest employee of the organisation. The Equality Act 2010 covers the rights of the
employees under certain unfathomable scenarios where employees have to be provided with
equal opportunities that can allow the employees to provide their best for the betterment of
the organisation. The relations between the employer and the employees have to be healthy in
order to maintain sustainable development of the organisation. Being a hard working
employee, James had a good relation with his employer, Alex and therefore, under this
fluctuating situation, Alex has to consider James under the Disability and Discrimination
laws (acas.org.uk 2019). The salary that James receives from the company is extremely
essential for his treatment however; the employment law of UK ensures that employees has to
be paid with £7.83 for every hour. However, the sickness of James has occupied him in
various medical tests for the possibility of cancer. Therefore, stopping his payments at this
stage shall catastrophically damage the condition of James.
Despite of the medical treatment that James has been going through for curing his health
condition there are diminutive chances of his full recovery that can lack his indulgence in the
operational procedures of shirt manufacturing company. Therefore, it is obligatory for Alex
to make sure that Equality Act is followed suitably and provide the James with suitable and
justified reasons for the actions that has to be taken in order to resolve the uncertainties.
Under the Equality Act 2010, an employee has to be provided with their individual rights and
has to be treated equally irrespective of their gender, race, marriage, civil partnership,
religion, sex orientation, as well as maternity that falls under the protected characteristics of
the Equality Act 2010. Several laws as well as legislations concerning the rights of the cancer
patients that returns to their workplaces after the final cancer treatment ensures that the
employees do not receive unfair treatments from neither from the employees nor from the
employers.
Recent development in the medical as well as technological sectors has increased the chances
of survival for cancer patients and therefore, it is quite natural that James can recover from
his condition and return to the workplace. It is therefore extremely essential to ensure that
James does not receive any discrimination after his arrival from the medical treatments. It is
indispensible for the employees to be treated with equal importance and unfair treatments in
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workplaces are strictly prohibited as per the Equality Act 2010. Therefore, James has to be
provided with healthy communication and has to be monitored for his health conditions. Alex
has to ensure that James is provided with several weeks of unpaid leave that will not harm the
economic stability of the organisation while on the other hand assure safety and security of
the job of James. Under the Family Medical leave Act, 1993, an employer can provide unpaid
leaves to an employee for 12 weeks at a stretch. This shall be a suitable option for both James
and Alex in maintaining the economic stability of the organisation while securing the job of
his trustworthy hardworking employee, James. However, Alex has to take into consideration
that James has been suffering from precancerous stage where an employee is not liable to
receive sick paid leaves.
Under the disability and cancer legislation of Equality Act 2010, an employee who is
suffering from disabilities including physical or mental impairments, employers have to
consider the long-term effects of an employee and take initiatives in accordance to it. The
development of the organisation highly depends on the effort of every single employee and
therefore, it is indispensible for Alex to consider various aspects of Employment Law
concerning disability (Neumark et al., 2017). As per the Employment law, employers have to
consider the Equality Act 2010 that ensures that a disabled employee must be treated with
equal importance irrespective of their physical as well as mental impairments.
Relevant Case Laws
As per the case of Waddingham v NHS Business Services Authority (2015) involved various
aspects of the employment as well as discrimination law concerning the rights of an
employee of NHS. According to the employment law, it is strictly prohibited by the
employers to mentally as well as physically harass employees irrespective of any position. In
this particular case, it has been observed that being a statutory employer, NHS failed to
provide flexible adjustments to the patients that resulted in huge fine that was imposed on
NHS.
While on the other hand, in case of Patterson v Commissioner of Metropolis (2007), the
disability of the police commissioner to act on resolving the conflicts of the disadvantaged
police officer that violate the Health and Safety Act 1974. During the promotional
examination, police officers had to go through several tests and during one of the high-
pressure tests, one of the police officer collapsed (stammeringlaw.org.uk 2019). Failure of the
employer to provide safety to employees during the activity, which was not a normal day-to-
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day activity the dyslexic officer collapsed compared to the normal activities where the officer
could receive several disadvantages from the non-dyslexic colleagues.
As per the case of Lofty v Hamis (2018) where the claimant was suffering lentigo maligna,
which is a precancerous stage of skin cancer that involved several medical treatments as well
as medications that took several absenteeism in her workplace. This resulted in various
conflicts on the grounds of discrimination, as employers cannot provide paid sick leaves
during precancerous stages (app.croneri.co.uk 2019).
The above cases have depicted a detailed view of the roles as well as responsibilities of the
employers in securing the rights of the employees. The laws as well as legislations
concerning the health and safety of the employees along with the rights of the employees
suffering from precancerous stages has been depicted in the cases above. This shall provide
Alex with a detailed knowledge of the duties towards providing James a justified agreement
that shall eradicate negative ramification against both the parties in the future.
James rights
As per the report of ACAS, disability discrimination reflects few points, where, people are
treated in a different way. In this context, people, who are not favourable for doing the
specific work, are taken as disable. Types of disability are followed by Perceived disability,
group work with disabled person and Own disability, which can be taken as direct
discrimination (macmillan.org.uk, 2019).In the opinion of Macmillan cancer support, if an
employee is suffering from severe disease, he is under the employment law. In this context,
organisations should support him by giving paid leave or other support so that he can recover
as early as possible. As per the Equality Act 2010, if the disabled employee needs extra
support from the employer, organisation should provide him.
On the contrary, Macmillan’s report highlights Equality Act and DDA, which provides
information related to rights of the employees, who are suffering from cancer. In this case,
James has right to continue his job in time of receiving treatment for cancer. As commented
by Wintemute (2016), discrimination law needs to be applied on the employees, even after
completing the treatment course. Otherwise, employees are discriminated in the workplace.
In case James, he would be able to receive this facility in time of working in Alex’s company.
The employment law includes various concepts such as recruitments, employment conditions,
training and promotion. James would receive all these facilities even if he suffers from
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cancer. As per the legal policy, cancer patients are different from normal people and as a
result, James needs to receive flexible work environment in the venture. In case of NHS
Business Service v Waddingham, it is found that company was compelled to give fine as
disabled employee was not able to work properly in venture (menzieslaw.co.uk, 2019).
Therefore, James should receive cooperative atmosphere in time of working in the venture.
Two specific rights such as discrimination and reasonable adjustment for employees are also
mentioned in the report of Macmillan and in case of James, he should also know this rights.
In the discrimination rights, it describes that employees should work in the healthy
atmosphere without discrimination so that they can do their work properly (macmillan.org.uk,
2019). On the other hand, in case reasonable adjustment, employer should offer the suitable
designation to the employee, who is suffering from cancer. This rule is also applicable for
Alex in context of James.
Responsibilities of Alex
a) The cancer report of McMillan suggests that four main categories of discriminations
include direct discrimination, indirect discrimination, harassment, as well as
victimisation. As per the Equality Act 2010 that replaced the Disability
Discrimination Act 1995, ensures that the employees suffering from cancer
automatically falls under the category of disabled as there are several physical as well
as mental impairments that are associated with cancer that exist even after the final
treatment (Corby et al., 2019). As per the Equality Act 2010, Alex has certain roles as
well as responsibilities as he is the employer of James who has been suffering from
cancer. As per the stats and report of ACAS, several situations identify particular
scenarios that furthermore, determine the relationship of the employers and the
employees.
b) Alex has to ensure that after James’s return, he does not receive any discrimination
based on his physical as well as mental disabilities. According to the Equality Act
2010 and the Health and Safety Act, it is strictly prohibited for the employees to
suffer from physical as well as mental harassments that promote the growth of
suitable relationship between the employers and employees.
c) Under the discrimination disability act of the Equality Act 2010, it is indispensible for
an employee to provide several adjustments that can bring suitable benefits not only
for the employees but also for the employers. Therefore, Alex has to make sure to
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make responsible adjustments. In order to ensure a suitable application of this, Alex
has to introduce several adjustments during James’s stay at the hospital for his
medical treatments that can secure the job perspectives of James and on the other
hand avoids any monetary losses of the organisation (cipp.org.uk 2019).
d) Being an employer, Alex has to ensure that policies laws as well as legislations that
surrounds and promotes equality in workplaces are applied for providing James with
suitable space for improving his skills in the operational procedures. This shall
promote the positive responsibilities of the employer towards the employees and build
healthy relationship between the employer and the employee.
e) As per the report of ACAS, it is indispensible for the managers as well as the recruiter
to have a detailed comprehension of disability discrimination that can be eradicated
from workplaces and promote the growth of equality in workplaces and provide
James with opportunities for improvement and recovery. It is also obligatory for Alex
to have an in-depth knowledge of the various aspects of Equality Act 2010 that has to
be provided to an employee for the betterment of the organisation. Being the
employer, Alex has to ensure that the positive behaviour is maintained that shall affect
the both employees and employer positively.
f) In the context, it has been stated that James is one of the oldest and hard working
employee of the shirt-manufacturing organisation. Henceforth it is the responsibility
of the Alex to look after the employees of the organisation and mitigate the
uncertainties raised due to the present scenario. Alex has to take several responsible
steps that can affect the relations of the employers and employees and promotes the
growth suitable workplace ambience.
g) Alex also has to keep in mind that James has been suffering from the precancerous
stage and therefore, James is not liable to take sick leaves during this period.
However, James can be provided with his regular unpaid leaves as an act of
refinement until James can recover and come back to work.
h) As per the knowledge provided by the report of ACAS, Alex has to provide proper
reason or logic if he wants to terminate James. Therefore, Alex has to seek for
disability except discrimination in order to provide suitable logic to James for his
termination for the services. Lack of logic and reason for terminating James form his
services can catastrophically damage the business in the future and therefore it is
extremely crucial for Alex to look for the grounds under which James can be
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terminated (Rothstein, 2018). However, if James can perform well after his treatment
there is no need for this option.
According to the report of McMillan providing morale support to the employees that have
suffered from serious dire eases such as cancer can significantly improve the performance
however, it has to be under the reliance if the Equality Act 2010.
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Conclusion
In order to draw the end line of study, it can be deduced that UK legislation is able to cover
all aspects related disability discrimination issue in the workplace. In case of Alex, he should
help James to mitigate his challenges related to work if he is diagnosed as a patient of cancer.
On the other hand, Equality Act elaborates that in the organisation, authority should treat all
employees equally so that they feel motivated in time of working. In case of James, if he is
diagnosed as a cancer patient, he should receive flexibility in the workplace. There is a
detailed abbreviation of the laws as well as legislation concerning the equality of the
employees along with various aspects of discrimination that has to be avoided by the
employees as well as the employers in order to promote suitable workplace relationships. The
rights of James being a victim of the situation and has been displayed in the essay as well
along with the support of several laws as well as legislations. The roles and responsibilities of
Alex in taking responsible steps that cannot only avail the employees bit also the employer
and the analysis of the report of ACAS has been depicted in this essay as well.
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Reference list
acas.org.uk (2019) Disability discrimination Available At:
http://www.acas.org.uk/index.aspx?articleid=1859 [Accessed on 10th April 2019]
app.croneri.co.uk (2019) Lofty v Hamis (2018)
/https://app.croneri.co.uk/law-and-guidance/case-reports/lofty-v-hamis-trading-first-caf-
2018-ukeat017717joj-eat [Accessed on 10th April 2019]
cipp.org.uk (2019) Disability discrimination: 10 examples of reasonable adjustments
https://www.cipp.org.uk/news-publications/news/tenreasadj.html [Accessed on 10th April
2019]
Corby, S., William, L. and Richard, S., 2019. Combatting disability discrimination: A
comparison of France and Great Britain.European Journal of Industrial Relations, 25(1),
pp.41-56.
croneri.co.uk (2019) Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis vsEkpeAvailable at
https://app.croneri.co.uk/law-and-guidance/case-reports/ekpe-v-commissioner-police-
metropolis-2001-irlr-605-eat [Accessed on 10th April 2019]
Lin, Z. and Yang, L., 2018. Denial of disability discrimination by disabled people in
China.Disability& Society, 33(5), pp.804-809.
macmillan.org.uk (2019) Legal rights about work and cancer Available
At:https://www.macmillan.org.uk/information-and-support/organising/work-and-cancer/if-
youre-an-employer/legislation-about-work-and-cancer.html#160727 [Accessed on 10th April
2019]
macmillan.org.uk (2019) Legal rights about work and cancer Available
At:https://www.macmillan.org.uk/information-and-support/organising/work-and-cancer/if-
youre-an-employer/legislation-about-work-and-cancer.html#160727 [Accessed on 10th April
2019]
macmillan.org.uk (2019) Your rights at work Available At:
https://www.macmillan.org.uk/information-and-support/organising/work-and-cancer/
information-for-employees/your-rights.html [Accessed on 10th April 2019]
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menzieslaw.co.uk (2019) Tag: Waddingham v NHS Business Services Authority Available
At: https://www.menzieslaw.co.uk/tag/waddingham-v-nhs-business-services-authority/
[Accessed on 10th April 2019]
Neumark, D., Song, J. and Button, P., 2017. Does protecting older workers from
discrimination make it harder to get hired? Evidence from disability discrimination
laws.Research on aging, 39(1), pp.29-63.
Rothstein, L., 2018. A Primer on Disability Discrimination in Higher Education.Laws, 7(3),
p.25.
stammeringlaw.org.uk (2019) Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis v Ekpe Available At:
http://www.stammeringlaw.org.uk/cases/ekpe.htm [Accessed on 10th April 2019]
Weber, M.C., 2015. Accidentally on purpose: Intent in disability discrimination law.BCL
Rev., 56, p.1417.
Wintemute, R., 2016. Goodbye EU Anti-Discrimination Law? Hello Repeal of the Equality
Act 2010?. King's Law Journal, 27(3), pp.387-397.
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