The Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner has pledged more support for those diagnosed with a terminal illness, as the Civil Service joins hundreds of employers already leading the way in ensuring best practice for people facing the most difficult time of their lives – by signing the Dying to Work Charter.
While many employers take great care already, a campaign called Dying to Work raises awareness of the important steps they can take to provide employees with dignity and peace of mind as they navigate a terminal diagnosis in work.
These steps are listed in this charter created by the TUC and founder Jacci Woodcock MBE, who was diagnosed with terminal breast cancer in 2012. It encourages employers to sign up as a promise to ensuring additional support for terminally ill staff and making sure the employee is involved any decision-making around how they continue in work.
The charter already has over 400 employers signed up all over the UK – from local businesses to public services big and small, covering over 1.5 million employees. Now with the Civil Service signed up, around 2 million employees are now protected by it.
The move adds to the leading support the Civil Service already provides for civil servants living with a terminal illness and government work supporting thousands of employers through DWP’s Disability Confident campaign, which also supports the charter.
Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner said:
No one battling terminal illness should ever have to face extra stress and worry over their job security at what is already the most challenging time for them and their loved ones.
It is vital at such a difficult time that employees with a terminal diagnosis are treated sensitively and with the best support – that’s why I’m so proud we are backing this charter.
Minister for Employment Rights Justin Madders said:
The bare minimum people facing terminal illness would expect is to have a sympathetic employer who treats them with dignity and respect, whilst dealing with the difficulties this brings.
While many employers take great care already, we know this isn’t always the case. That’s why today, the Civil Service is setting the standard, protecting vulnerable workers and giving them the freedom to decide whether to stay in work with the support they need.
TUC Director of Organising Sian Elliott said:
We all hope our employer would support us if we were diagnosed with a terminal illness – but sadly, that’s not always the case.
We welcome the government’s decision to sign the Dying to Work Charter, improving support for civil servants. No one should face the added burden of losing their job at the most difficult time of their life.
The charter is about dignity, security, and choice. Two million workers are now covered by it across both the public and private sectors. We hope many more employers will sign up too.
The Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner, Minister for Employment Rights Justin Madders and Cabinet Office Minister Georgia Gould all signed the charter together on behalf of the Civil Service. The signing took place on Thursday (26 June) with trade unions present.
The government’s help to raise awareness of better practices for terminally ill staff is part of its plan to make work pay, which is the biggest upgrade to workers’ rights in a generation.
ENDS
Notes to editors:
- According to Cancer Research UK, 1 in 3 people are projected to be diagnosed with cancer and currently in 1 in 10 cases are in people under 50.
- In 2023/24, over 345,000 people were on the palliative care register in England – a list held by GPs of people who are under their care and approaching end of life and are likely to have less than 12 months to live.
