Northumbria Police and the Northumbria Office of the Police & Crime Commissioner (OPCC) have signed the TUC’s Dying to Work Charter on behalf of 5,092 Police Officers and Police Staff. The charter aims to protect the rights of individuals at work with a terminal illness.
The charter was signed this week by the Northumbria Police Chief Constable, Winton Keenen, Northumbria Police & Crime Commissioner, Kim McGuinness, UNISON Branch Chair, Caryl Nobbs, Northumbria Police Federation Deputy Secretary, Gary Collinson, and Northern TUC Policy & Campaigns Support Officer, Helena Hammock. (pictured above).
UNISON Regional Organiser, Helen Metcalf, said:
“UNISON is proud Northumbria Police and the PCC’s Office are signing the TUC Dying to Work Charter, alongside the Police Federation, on behalf of over 5,092 employees.
“Every person battling terminal conditions deserves the choice of how to spend their final months. When our members are faced with such a tough diagnosis, we are committed to ensuring that they are treated with respect in a supportive work environment.
“We also recognise that, if our members want to continue working, safe and reasonable work can maintain dignity and offer a therapeutic distraction.”
The Charter is part of the TUC’s wider Dying to Work campaign, which is seeking greater security for terminally-ill workers, where they cannot be dismissed as a result of their condition.
It was taken forward by the TUC after the case of an area sales manager from Derbyshire, Jacci Woodcook, who was forced out of her job after being diagnosed with terminal breast cancer. The Dying to Work campaign works to providing terminally ill employees with greater job and financial security and peace of mind.
The TUC now has close to a million workers covered by the Dying to Work charter across the country and will continue to campaign for more employers to commit to the charter.
You can see if your employer has signed by visiting www.dyingtowork.co.uk/whos-signed/.