I broke down at work today

[icantcope2021]

I work as a key worker in a team of six. During lockdown 1 we all worked from our place of work as we cannot work from home. The other members of the team all have primary school aged children who all attended school during the lockdown.
In May I was diagnosed with cancer, I was then off sick until late October. Covid levels in my area have been very low so I wasn't too worried about catching it.
In December cases rose and I spoke to my manager about my anxieties about working as two members of the team had tested positive. I asked if I could be furloughed due to health reasons (I am not on the shielding list) and she told me she would look into it in the new year.
Today I have found out two of my colleagues have been furloughed due to childcare issues and it broke me because it means now I can't be furloughed. I feel so anxious and scared about working. AIBU?

Schools shouldn’t be saying both parents have to be keyworkers for a child to have place, that’s not the guidance they should be following

Contact HR and take this higher as you have cancer and this is cla seed as a disability. Also, that she has discriminated against you regarding childcare.

Real twatty to have to find out that way. In that situation I say fuck em, try and get signed off long term with stress.

OP, do you have cancer or did you have cancer?

Because you have been off for Cancer and its one of the few named 'disabilities' under the equality act your sickness for the cancer shouldn't come under your work place sickness policy. This does need to be asked for under 'reasonable adjustments' and can in some cases be refused.

@gobbynorthernbird

OP, do you have cancer or did you have cancer?

I have cancer, not been given the all clear as I have some lymph nodes under active surveillance

@WonderfulWinde

Because you have been off for Cancer and its one of the few named 'disabilities' under the equality act your sickness for the cancer shouldn't come under your work place sickness policy. This does need to be asked for under 'reasonable adjustments' and can in some cases be refused.

I thought that meant that it can't be used in a sickness management process for sickness reviews etc, I don't think it has any effect on pay.

Companies have to pay SSP, they don't have to pay enhanced sick pay for anything unless company policy and that's normally covered in the sickness policy and would be counted for pay purpose rather than sickness management (at least as I understand it).

Given your last post OP, I would speak to whichever consultant or specialist nurse in the clinic providing your care and ask them if you are more at risk / should be in the shielding category.

The issue is if they say that your are not, then that won't help at work, but it might help relieve your anxiety around covid.

@Shmithecat2

Why are you not classed as CEV/having to shield OP?

This. Go to HR OP. Team staffing levels are your manager's problem to sort- that's part of being a manager! If you are at risk then protect yourself.

You need to fight this.

Get your GP to sign you off. Disgusting behaviour from your manager. There was no need to priorities the two with childcare issues as they are keyworkers and could have had places.

You say that this has broken you: tell your GP this, get signed off for 6 weeks.

I would be asking for a copy of the risk assessment that has been completed in view of my diagnosed cancer and how childcare has been prioritised over my health.

You need to get clarification if your type of cancer and treatment makes you vunerable .
Not every cancer or treatment makes you high risk get this info and take it from there.

I always thought furlough was to support companies that don't have the work/means to pay staff, not childcare, but clearly that's not the case.

Given you are now down two colleagues who is going to do their work while they are furloughed? I definitely wouldn't be picking up extra (done that all my working life - assumption being you're childless you can work late).

@ekidmxcl

Get your GP to sign you off. Disgusting behaviour from your manager. There was no need to priorities the two with childcare issues as they are keyworkers and could have had places.

You say that this has broken you: tell your GP this, get signed off for 6 weeks.

Not all keyworkers can get places. A friend of mine and their dp are both frontline/essential workers and can't get a place for one, let alone both of their dc... there is a finite amount of spaces available.

Contact Macmillan Cancer Support they have Welfare Rights Officers who can assist you in applying for a Macmillan Grant if you are having financial difficulties due to your diagnosis. Good luck x

@MissLucyEyelesbarrow the equality act names 3 conditions as automatically classified as a disability under employment legislation-cancer is one of them (HIV and MS are the others)

[quote Cloudhopping]@MissLucyEyelesbarrow the equality act names 3 conditions as automatically classified as a disability under employment legislation-cancer is one of them (HIV and MS are the others)[/quote]
Surely what type of cancer matters though? I've had cancer. Skin cancer. Basal Cell Carcinoma to be exact. That certainly didn't leave me vulnerable, or require any rights to be exercised in line with the Equality Act. I don't think the OP has clarified what cancer she has, and neither does she have to in this thread, but from the info she has given, telling the OP she's being discriminated against in line with the classifications of the EA might not be the correct advice...

Active surveillance is not necessarily the same as active treatment and I would hazard a guess at breast cancer

Given your update OP with respect you have cancer and you need to fight for your time off. I’d advise you to go to your consultant or doctor and ask them for a shielding letter. I’m sorry if people can’t get childcare but your health needs to come first and you need to be selfish right now. Your manager is being a complete idiot over this.

Basal cell carcinoma is t classed as cancer.
Active surveillance means the OP has cancer which is still there but they are keeping an eye on it to see if it gets worse - if it does then there will be more active treatment such as chemo. Many prostate cancers (ok I know the OP is a female!) are on the active surveillance list.
It's still early days for the OP and even if she has had an op to remove the tumour and her surgeons are 99.9% sure they have removed all of the cancer, she is still going to be closely monitored for a good few years just in case cells were missed.

I'm sorry OP I don't want to worry you, just explain why you have a right to be anxious and request furlough.

@SecretSpAD

Basal cell carcinoma is t classed as cancer.

According to who? It's skin cancer. A cancer.

According to the bodies that record cancer. It's been that way for years. Squamous cell carcinoma and malignant melanoma are skin cancer, basal cell carcinoma not cancer.
Google it if you don't believe me. I imagine it is somewhere on the cancer Research UK website.

@SecretSpAD
Prostate cancer wouldn’t mean someone would be on the CEV list though unless they were immunosuppressed.

Talk to your specialist OP. I think a cancer diagnosis would make anyone anxious, especially in a pandemic. There are lots of people who are vulnerable but not necessarily clinically extremely vulnerable who can fall through the cracks a bit. However if all vulnerabilities were taken into account then there probably wouldn’t be enough people at work.

@SecretSpAD

According to the bodies that record cancer. It's been that way for years. Squamous cell carcinoma and malignant melanoma are skin cancer, basal cell carcinoma not cancer. Google it if you don't believe me. I imagine it is somewhere on the cancer Research UK website.

Cancer Research UK refer to it as a cancer, and so do the NHS 🤷🏻‍♀️