Lloyds Banking Group signs terminal illness charter

Lloyds Banking Group has become the latest organisation to sign a charter that encourages employers to commit to supporting staff with a terminal illness.

The Dying to Work voluntary charter, which was developed by trade union body the TUC and forms part of a wider campaign to improve job security for employees living with terminal illness, encourages employers to recognise the important role that work can have in the lives of those with such conditions.

The terminal illness charter asks employers to:

• recognise that those with a terminal illness need support and understanding and not additional and avoidable stress;
• support staff following their diagnosis and recognise that safe and reasonable work can help maintain dignity, offer a distraction and can be therapeutic;
• provide staff with the security of work and the right to choose the best course of action for themselves and their families, without undue financial loss; and
• support the TUC’s Dying to Work campaign so that all employees with terminal illness have adequate employment protection and protection for their death in service benefits.

The campaign was launched by the TUC after Jacci Woodcock, an area sales manager for a textile design company, was forced out of her role by her employer after she was diagnosed with terminal breast cancer.

Lloyds Banking Group is one of dozens of public sector and private sector organisations that have signed the charter, including Rolls Royce, Royal Mail and The Co-op.

Rebecca Priestley, people director at Lloyds Banking Group, said: “At Lloyds Banking Group we have been working hard to provide specialist advice and support for colleagues living with a terminal illness. Reflecting this important support, we have agreed to become a signatory of the charter, which underscores our commitment to be there for colleagues through challenging times, when they need us most.”

Paul Nowak, deputy general secretary at the TUC, said: “Your job should be the least of your worries when you get a terminal diagnosis.

“I’m delighted that Lloyds Banking Group have shown real leadership in this area, working with unions to guarantee fair treatment for terminally-ill workers.”