Terminal illness

Women on beach in reflection about illness

A person suffering from a terminal illness will first of all be faced with the shock of the diagnosis. Following this will be the need to face the reality of the particular condition. As in most things people will deal and cope with things in different ways; coping with a terminal illness will be no different.

As well as adjusting to the personal implications of this new reality, the person must find ways of responding to loved ones and friends and think about the impact on work and what to say to whom about what is happening. This will almost certainly be stressful and distressing for all concerned.

Issues to consider when discussing terminal illness:

Confidentiality
The emotional discomfort in sharing the information.
Consider some individuals may find it difficult to have this discussion.
If the employee intends to continue working, it is important that you are aware of how the illness will impact on the employee’s ability to do their job.
It is important to build a trusting relationship between the employee and yourself to allow changes to be made as and when required.
Whether or not they want their colleagues to know of the situation and if so, how best to tell them, such as in a group or singly.
Once the news is known, the employee will initially need to deal with questions and well wishes from colleagues.
If the employee prefers not to tell colleagues at this time, you must respect this choice, but it may present some difficulties for you to deal with particularly if you need to make any adjustments to enable the employee to continue working. Adjustments to the employees work seen in isolation may lead to different conclusions and build into resentment if not dealt with sensitively.
Some colleagues will be closer to the employee than others and distress amongst this group of colleagues may affect their work performance initially. Arranging to speak to the person yourself in an understanding and supportive way could help with the process of adjustment.
At some stage you are likely to need professional advice about the employees’ condition. Explain to the employee that you will need to seek professional guidance from your Occupational Health provider to ascertain what changes may be needed to support them at work and ask for their consent to make this referral. In your referral you can ask the practitioner whether the condition falls under the Equality Act. Speaking with your HR Department may provide more information about policies in place to deal with terminal illnesses. (Cancer is one such illness covered by the Equality Act).

It would be wrong to think that the diagnosis of a terminal illness will mean the end of a career. Whilst some people may want to stop working to spend time with loved ones, or take the holiday of a lifetime for instance, others will prefer to remain as productive as possible for as long as possible.

At some point however the employee may have to stop working and it may be very important for them and their colleagues to stay in touch and for you to maintain contact to continue to support the employee.

Inevitably you will at some point receive the sad news that your employee has passed away and will possibly have to advise your team of this fact. Doing this in a sensitive way and giving your staff time to adjust to the news, share their thoughts and discuss how they wish to mark the occasion will be beneficial. Keeping them informed of funeral arrangements and allowing as many as is practicable to attend if they wish will also be a supportive gesture.

Recognise the impact dealing with this may have had on you.