16.09.19
North Tees and Hartlepool NHS FT signs TUC Dying to Work charter
North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Foundation Trust signed the Trade Union’s Congress (TUC) ‘Dying to Work’ charter today, making them the first hospital trust in the North East to get behind this campaign.
The TUC’s ‘Dying to Work’ charter protects the rights of individuals at work with a terminal illness. The campaign began in 2016 after a Derbyshire sales manager lost her job following a cancer diagnosis.
Many industry giants have already signed up to the charter and the Teeside Trust is now following in their footsteps.
The Dying to Work campaign works to ensure that employees cannot be made unemployed as a result of a terminal diagnosis, providing them with greater security and peace of mind.
This notion was reaffirmed by TUC’s Northern Regional Secretary Beth Farhat, explaining: “Your job should be the least of your worries when you get a terminal diagnosis.”
Alan Sheppard, director of Workforce for the leading Teesside trust said of the pledge: “Our Trust has always been committed to ensuring our staff feel valued during their employment with us.
“At such a critical time, we are pledging to support staff in their choices. Our culture is one that is focused on inclusion, we could not think of a more appropriate way to further herald our commitment to supporting colleagues. We are certainly very proud to be the first NHS trust in the North East to pledge”.
The TUC took the campaign forward after Derbyshire sales manager Jacci Woodcook involuntarily lost her job after being diagnosed with terminal breast cancer. Their hope is that more employers will sign up to the voluntary charter to prevent cases like Jacci’s from happening again.
Ms Farhat praised the North East Trust, adding: “I’m delighted that North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Foundation Trust have shown real leadership in this area, working with unions to guarantee fair treatment for terminally-ill workers.
“We are close to a million workers being covered by the Dying to Work charter across the country, and we expect more employers to commit in the coming months.”
An official signing of the charter took place today in the offices of Trust Chief Executive Julie Gillon. (Pictured)