Cancer diagnosis and Insurance / Jonnie Irwin

[themessygarden]

Jonnie Irwin has said his employer paid him off and basically fired him when he told them about his cancer diagnosis. The company claim they couldn't get insurance for him which is why they had to terminate his contract.

As an employee of 18 years, wouldn't the company already have insurance cover for him. That is what insurance is for, its there for when you get ill.

I had insurance through work when I was diagnosed with cancer, the insurance kicked in and all my costs were covered. Even recently our insurance company changed and they accepted all pre existing conditions.

Wonder if he was employed on a freelance basis and they only insured him per episode or per series.

It is quite worrying, and it really bothers me, that an insurance company can actually cancel your insurance because of a terminal illness diagnosis.

He's not a full-time employee though is he? He'll be working for them on a contractual basis. As each contract starts, they will get insurance for him.

Because it involves working abroad in many different countries maybe it was an issue with travel insurance.

I assumed it was travel insurance.

I've just read extracts from the interview and, bloody hell, it made me weep. When my DH was diagnosed with bowel cancer at 38, his then employer bent over backwards to support him and I am pretty sure (no objective medical evidence, obviously) that it contributed to his amazing recovery (given 5 years, tops, and we are 8 years on). They were so supportive of him and me in terms of time, money and certainty of future, it makes me shudder that a huge organisation cannot do the same.

I would think it’s relevant that he is working abroad and travel insurance, rather than working contract insurance.

I'm sure that's true but they could surely have created a role for him on s fixed term
basis? To let him go wax unnecessarily brutal and unimaginative.

He wouldn't have been employed by the show, he would have been contracted as a freelancer 'talent' as part of the series commission by the broadcaster. A production gets insurance at the start of each series, and he, as the talent, would have been uninsurable I'd have thought.

Again, I suspect that's true but it's brutal
simply to wash your hands of someone who is dying because you can. Very UK in 2022, though.

It fills me with horror, it most celebrities are self employed - they said they couldn't get insurance - my DH died 18 months ago of the same cancer, his employer too bent over backwards and really did everything possible to help.

He is a contractor in effect, not a paid employee as such. Yes the production company would be responsible for insurance whilst he worked for them, but,
like any person with serious illnesses, they couldn’t get the travel insurance for him, and that’s the issue.

And I am not saying it’s right or wrong what the production company did, but they are hardly going to be able to cover him themselves.

it would be interesting to know however if he had taken out his own critical illness insurance to provide for his family in such a case

it would be interesting to know however if he had taken out his own critical illness insurance to provide for his family in such a case

What the hell has it got to do with you if he had critical illness cover or not? Christ, someone is dying and you think it would be ‘interesting to know’ if he has life cover? This has got to be one of the most tasteless threads I have ever seen on MN and your post is quite sick tbh. His friends and family could be reading this. You need to find some hobby or interest.

I think I read that he was encouraging others to take out life insurance, as he said it is comforting for him to know his family will have that for when he is not around.

As others have said, there are plenty of examples of companies who have treated their employees compassionately and I don't know ANYONE who lost their job because they were unfortunate enough to get cancer.

Even if he couldn't work abroad, they could have kept him on his salary while he was ill and going through treatment.

Seems the production company and C4 really didn't try that hard, it's disgusting really.

If you are off sick, cancer or not, it depends what you contract says if you get paid sick leave, and for how long, and if your job is held open for you, paid or not. Many companies aren’t able to pay people if they are sick. If you have too much time off sick, you can easily lose your job. When I had cancer treatment, I could get three months off in a two-year period fully paid. As my cancer returned quickly, I had exhausted my company’s sick leave policy and so was unpaid after that. I know other people with cancer who received nothing, and worryingly, were not entitled to any benefits at all.

If you are self employed you should have your own insurance. Simple as that.

I don't know ANYONE who lost their job because they were unfortunate enough to get cancer.

It is quite common for people to lose their jobs because of cancer. If you are not able to do your job because you are absent, the company you work for can, and will, dismiss you. It depends how much sick leave you get etc. I know many people who were forced back to work, or had to job seek, having lost their job, while undergoing treatment.

He would not have been able to get travel insurance to film abroad or the travel insurance would have had so many exclusions that it would have been worthless. The company cannot risk taking a person in poor health abroad without adequate coverage. Imagine the headlines if he had ended up in hospital and been facing exorbitant bills and had to sell his home to cover them. Feel sorry for the guy but it was not realistic to think that with a terminal cancer diagnosis that he would have been able to continue to work abroad.

He was undoubtedly self-employed. Which has it's benefits - you can negotiate better pay/rates. And it's risks (not looked after by an emplyer because you do not have that employer-employee relationship.

You cover yourself in this situation. You get life cover (to replace Death in Service). You get critical illness cover. You get Income Protection cover.

His articles in the press he probably received a fee for.

I have huge sympathy for him/his situation.

But this is not the production companies fault. Or responsibility.

But he wouldn't have been an employee.

His point was less about being left in the lurch financially - and more about having this massive part of his identity ripped away.

Work provides an emotional and practical exoskeleton to a life.

Sacking someone while they are still fit to work but have a terminal diagnosis is literally like telling them that they are no longer relevant; they have nothing more of value to offer. It will undoubtedly make the MH impact of the diagnosis worse.

I suspect he was on a short term contract rather than permanent, most presenters are.

So sad to hear Jonnie Irwin is so ill.

He can't do his job which is very sad but happens to a lot of people with terminal illness.

Hopefully he will have specific insurance in place to cover him for this eventuality. Self employed people really need to cover themselves in case we're unable to work and provide ourselves with the same level of protection we would have in employment.

Irwin owns 75% of shares in his own TV company which has cash assets of over £400k in the bank.

I can’t see that being employed makes much difference. Most companies won’t keep someone on if they are long-term unable to do their job. Anyone with a terminal diagnosis is at some point going to be unable to work again.

By definition a terminal diagnosis means 12 months or less to live. I would judge any employer that initiated a capability dismissal process against an employee in that scenario. Wholly unnecessary infliction of additional pain for the sake of a few months at SSP.

I don't think arguing the brutal capitalism angle around a human dying is defensible. I just don't.