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Greta I agree, the Law surrounding cancer and the DDA is very clear on this point, the accomodation from the employers perspective would have to stand up to an ET's acceptance of reasonable from an adjustment perspective. Take care Pete Pete Judge Occupational Health Adviser Cardiff University Heath Park Campus 4th Floor Denbigh House UHW 02920 748955 >>> Greta Thornbory <[log in to unmask]> 04/04/2007 10:39 >>> Whilst I agree with Peter's reply below I would also urge caution. Reading the last paragraph in the article in this April's issue of Occupational Health 'Coping with cancer' (page 18-20) Goldman and Lewis state 'The law takes the stance that once afflicted by cancer the employee has the right to be treated as if at permanent risk' etc. This indicates to me that to disregard the GPs request could end up with a case under the DDA. It is of-course up to the management, but they would be expected to have considered 'reasonable adjustments' if this were to get to court. Cheers, Greta Greta Thornbory Consultant, Occupational Health & Education Consultant Editor, OH Journal www.gtenterprises-uk.com Tel: 01235 770156 Mob: 07778 518 027 ----- Original Message ----- From: Peter Judge To: [log in to unmask] Sent: Wednesday, April 04, 2007 8:56 AM Subject: Re: [OCC-HEALTH] shift changes and cancer Jacqui The little evidence that is out there on stress and cancer says that cancer cannot be caused by stress and that it is unlikely that it can cause a previous remission to reactivate. There is evidence however to say that stress does have an effect on a persons quality of life and this may be the driving factor here. If you take this string further then removing this man from his family at weekends when there is maximum amount of family time then this would significantly affect his quality of life. Although I am assuming he will still get 2 days off to spend with his family just not at the weekend. This is not really his employers responsibility as they can with consultation change his contractual working requirements as the business evolves, as seems the case here. The straight forward answer here is if he does not like the new shift pattern and his employer cannot accomodate his wishes to remain on his previous pattern then he may well have to seek employment elsewhere. As for his GP that is an opinion, which I would argue is biased in his patients favour and I would not waste money or time asking the GP to clarify his opinion. You can simply present to Human Resources/line management your own opinion after reviewing the man and state that you do not agree with his GP's view, thus leaving HR and line management to do their jobs. The link below shows BACUP's view on stress causing cancer of any type. www.cancerbackup.org.uk/QAs/597 Hope this helps Cheers Pete Pete Judge Occupational Health Adviser Cardiff University Heath Park Campus 4th Floor Denbigh House UHW 02920 748955 >>> Jacqui Livock <[log in to unmask]> 03/04/2007 19:32 >>> Hi the distribution staff are undergoing major shift pattern changes over the next few weeks as changes in business processes mean the business is going to be more efficient and stock will be leaving the warehouses 7 days per week. a group of staff have always been employed on "5 of 7" contracts which have traditionally been mon-fri and now the company want them to work weekends. as part of one young chaps consultation he has submitted a letter from his doctor saying he has been previously treated for skin cancer and is in remission and working on a weekend will significantly increase the risk of his cancer recurring due to stress of not being with his family on a weekend. your opinions please (i know the DDA applies!) i am on a time frame of 1 week too! jacqui ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Please remove this footer before replying. For list archives and documents, go to http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/occ-health.html FORTHCOMING CONFERENCES AND EVENTS: http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/cgi-bin/filearea.cgi?LMGT1=OCC-HEALTH For Occupational Health jobs, go to http://OHJobs.drmaze.net Find out about Occupational Health Nursing Education in UK at http://home.wlv.ac.uk/~in6232/aohne/ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Please remove this footer before replying. For list archives and documents, go to http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/occ-health.html FORTHCOMING CONFERENCES AND EVENTS: http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/cgi-bin/filearea.cgi?LMGT1=OCC-HEALTH For Occupational Health jobs, go to http://OHJobs.drmaze.net Find out about Occupational Health Nursing Education in UK at http://home.wlv.ac.uk/~in6232/aohne/