Banking organisation TSB has become a signatory of the Dying to Work charter, developed by trade union body the Trades Union Congress (TUC) as part of a campaign to support employees living with terminal illness.
The charter asks employers to be supportive and understanding of staff following diagnosis, and to provide them with the security and dignity of work, as well as the right to choose the best course of action for themselves and their families without undue financial loss.
Signatories of the Dying to Work charter are also asked to support the campaign to ensure all employees with terminal illness have adequate protection for their employment and death-in-service benefits.
Rachel Lock, HR director at TSB, said: “I’m delighted we have signed up to the charter. Supporting our [employees] through all stages in their lives has always been really important to us, and this move is further evidence of that.”
Employers signing up to the charter must be endorsed by a TUC member; TSB received endorsement from the unions Unite and Accord.
Ged Nichols, general secretary for Accord, said: “We’re really pleased that TSB agreed to join us in signing this significant charter. The charter is an important part of Accord’s wider dignity at work agenda.”
Dominic Hook, national officer for Unite’s finance sector, said: “Worrying about your job should be the least of your concerns when you receive a terminal diagnosis. Signing the TUC’s Dying to Work charter is an important step in a moral journey. This campaign is a really important part of changing the way society approaches and thinks about terminally ill people.”