Equipsme HR Guide – cancer

We know cancer is emotive and a big concern, so we’ve pulled this guide together to help you and your team understand more about the facts, the potential impact on your business – and how you and your Equipsme plan can help your team if the worst should ever happen.

We don’t cover cancer treatment. That’s a deliberate choice that’s part of our commitment to providing health insurance at a cost-effective, responsible, and sustainable price.

Instead, we focus on early diagnosis and support.

Even if Diagnosis isn’t part of your Equipsme plan, all Equipsme members have access to our 24/7 GP, dedicated nurse helpline and a Cancer care support team. So, there’s no need for anyone to wait and worry – they can still get initial attention and advice, fast.

Most businesses will already have things like long-term sickness absence policies in place, but supporting cancer in the workplace doesn’t only mean supporting those going through treatment.

It also means helping people live healthier lifestyles, because 38% of cancer cases in the UK are considered preventable. And it means supporting those caring for loved ones with cancer symptoms – often older relatives, with 1/3 of cancer cases diagnosed in over 75s.

Cancer in numbers

Incidence

While cancer cases are on the rise, most people are diagnosed when they’re older. The number of working people living with cancer is outstripped by the number of working people caring for loved ones with cancer:

1 in 2¹ people in the UK will get cancer within their lifetime
1/3² of cancers are diagnosed in people over 75
900,000³ – the number of working age people living with cancer today
1.1m⁴ – working people in the UK are for someone with cancer
53%⁵ of all cancers in the UK fall into four types - breast, lung, prostate and bowel cancer

Early intervention

The importance of prevention and early detection for cancer can’t be overstated. There is much people can do to avoid key risk factors, e.g. quitting smoking. Meanwhile where cancer does develop, catching it early makes a huge difference to health outcomes:

38%⁶ - the number of cancer cases considered preventable
£133 billion⁷ - the total estimated costs of UK preventable cancer cases diagnosed in 2023, equating to 5.07% of annual GDP
6-13%⁸ - the increase in risk of death for each 4 weeks delay in cancer treatment
100% vs 25% ⁹ – the number of women who survive breast cancer for 5 years or more when it’s diagnosed at its earliest stage, vs its latest stage
65% vs 5%¹⁰– the number of people who survive lung cancer when it’s diagnosed at its earliest stage, vs its latest stage
100% vs 50%¹¹ - the number of men who survive prostate cancer when it’s diagnosed at its earliest stage, vs its latest stage
90% vs 10%¹² - the number of people who survive bowel cancer when it’s diagnosed at its earliest stage, vs its latest stage

Access

People are experiencing difficulty in getting that early attention, especially for what can often be vague symptoms that are hard to put together, eg. losing weight, lumps, bumps, or minor changes over time:

50%¹³ of Brits who have avoided making a GP appointment, often the first port of call for cancer symptoms
28%¹⁴ - people who’ve avoided making an appointment because it’s too difficult
More than 7 million¹⁵ — the estimated size of the NHS waiting lists 2024

NHS Treatment

While waiting lists for NHS treatment are at an all-time high and cancer targets are officially being missed, most people are in fact still experiencing fast, effective treatment from the NHS:

92.5%¹⁶ of people diagnosed with cancer start treatment within 31 days on the NHS
13%¹⁷ - the number of people waiting longer than 31 days – often due to the need for complex treatment plans and further tests, scans and genetic results

Workplace issues

Cancer clearly has an impact on people in the workplace, and not all workplaces are responding effectively to individual needs:

40%¹⁸ - the number of people with cancer who’ve had to use annual leave to attend medical appointments
15 weeks¹⁹ – the average time off taken by someone with cancer
22%²⁰ - the number of people who don’t tell their workplace they have cancer until they are undergoing treatment
10%²¹ – the number of people with cancer who don’t feel supported by their workplace
67%²² – the number of workplaces which don’t have a specific policy for serious or terminal illness.

What the law says about cancer

Under UK law, cancer is considered a disability, protected in England, Scotland and Wales by the Equality Act 2010²³,and in Northern Ireland by the Disability Discrimination Act 1995. Amongst other things, that means your organisation has to make reasonable adjustments to accommodate people with cancer, that allow them to do their job.

The Carer’s Leave Act 2023 ²⁴ makes provisions for employees with caring responsibilities. Any employee who balances work with unpaid care is now entitled to up to five working days within any 12-month period, extending to 18 weeks for a child.

According to the Employment Rights Act 1996²⁵,UK employers are obligated to give employees an unpaid “reasonable” number of days off following the death of a family member, or dependent.

What can businesses do about cancer?

1. Prevention

Not all cancers can be prevented, and not all risk factors can be mitigated – for instance age or family history. But there are risk factors people can control, including giving up smoking, drinking less alcohol, taking exercise, staying safe in the sun, eating well and maintaining a healthy weight.

These are all healthy habits that employers can encourage through health and wellbeing initiatives at work – making it easier for employees to take breaks, have time to prepare and eat food, and opportunities to move more during the working day.

Things like health assessments or health checks can also help motivate people to make lifestyle changes, and spot potential issues early.

2. Early diagnosis

Early diagnosis makes a huge difference to the kind of cancer treatments available, and their chance of success. It’s really important to avoid a culture of presenteeism, and make it as easy as possible for people to take their initial symptoms to a GP.

There is also a role for health awareness days and activities, including for charity, which can help spread the word about symptoms to look out for - especially linked to the most common types of cancer likely to impact your workforce.

3. Treatment support

Treatment support remains crucial, and can include reasonable adjustments [xxvi], such as time off for appointments, flexible working, reduced hours and duties - or phased returns to work after surgery or other procedures.

It’s also important to review your long-term sickness absence policy [xxvii],and invest in ongoing training for HR staff and line managers [xxviii], helping them offer the best possible support to employees.

4. Carer support

If you don’t have a carer support or carer’s leave policy [xxix], it’s time to develop one. Some estimates put the figure of those caring for someone with cancer in the UK as high as 6 million²⁹. Looking after someone with cancer can have a physical, emotional, and financial impact. Being aware of the challenges [xxx] they face and flexible about things like working schedules can empower carers, promote engagement, and build a culture of support.

5. Bereavement support

Many people will live with cancer for years. For others it may be months. For the people around them, it is clearly devastating. As an organisation you should have a compassionate leave or bereavement policy [xxxi] for employees who lose a loved one, and plans in place to support the teams of employees who have died.

How your Equipsme plan can help

1. Prevention

All Equipsme plans come with Thriva tests and discounts from our health check partners Thriva (depending on the cover level chosen), aiming to help people stay one step ahead of their health.

2. Early diagnosis - GP

Encourage your people to use their Equipsme 24/7 GP service to help get fast, convenient appointments, a vital second opinion service - and even open referrals on to specialist consultants if needed. These can be for NHS appointments, or for a claim for a private specialist appointment if diagnosis is part of your Equipsme plan and if the symptoms to be investigated are covered.

3. Early diagnosis – fast-track Cancer Pathways

We also have specialised Pathways for three common cancers through AXA Health. These aim to get people with symptoms of breast, skin or prostate cancer through to specialist support even faster.

Cancer pathways are for members aged over 18, and those aged over 40 for the prostate cancer pathway. These pathways mean Equipsme members can often access diagnosis services through AXA Health, without the need for a GP referral.

The breast, skin and prostate cancer diagnostic screenings are provided by Check4Cancer, a reliable and trusted provider of early cancer detection in the UK.

4. Treatment support

The cost of cancer treatment can make traditional PMI prices increase significantly, which is why we don’t include it in Equipsme plans.

Instead, we focus on early diagnosis, and provide helpline support as people return back to the NHS to start their treatment programmes, often under the same consultant they’ve seen through Equipsme (when diagnosis is part of their plan). The NHS is still very effective at cancer care, and is often the best place to gather multi-disciplinary teams for complex treatment.

Members also have access to cancer nurse specialists on the 24/7 nurse support helpline, who can help patients and their relatives understand their treatment, medication, and options.

5. Carer support

Because cancer risk increases with age, cancer carers in the workforce may be looking after older relatives. That’s why all Equipsme plans now come with discounts on Which? recommended Elder Care support services, including personal alarms and emergency resolution services, plus expert advice, guidance and other resources.

6. Bereavement support

Equipsme’s Stress support EAP service, an optional add-on that you can choose to provide to all employees included in your main plan, includes bereavement support. Initial telephone appointments can lead to referrals for a limited number of local, face-to-face appointments with a bereavement expert.

Useful articles for members:

How to get an at-home health check
How to make a GP appointment
How to see a consultant for diagnosis
How to get additional support for cancer via Check4Cancer Pathways
What is the Cancer Care Support line?
How to use the Stress support EAP service

Resources:

CIPD Long term illness guide: long term health
CIPD Long term illness guide: carer friendly workplace
Macmillan work and cancer guidance

All our information is desk-based research from credible sources only, including the NHS and medical/disease charities.

Date updated: December 2025

Equipsme HR Guide – cancer

Cancer in numbers

Incidence

Early intervention

Access

NHS Treatment

Workplace issues

What the law says about cancer

What can businesses do about cancer?

1. Prevention

2. Early diagnosis

3. Treatment support

4. Carer support

5. Bereavement support

How your Equipsme plan can help

1. Prevention

2. Early diagnosis - GP

3. Early diagnosis – fast-track Cancer Pathways

4. Treatment support

5. Carer support

6. Bereavement support

Further reading:

Useful articles for members:

Resources:

References:

What is the heart health support line?

Equipsme HR Guide – heart health

How to keep your heart healthy

Equipsme profile: Anne-Marie Preston