Talking Endometriosis In the Workplace (Part One)
By Dannielle Stewart and Tracey Stewart, Management 101
Have you ever felt uncomfortable, nervous, or even downright terrified to tell your boss about your endometriosis? Have you ever felt nauseated at the thought of calling in sick, again, or asking for time off to have surgery? You’re not alone. Chronic illness can have an impact on workplace performance, ability to sustain full time work, relationships with employers or other employees, and is responsible for lost productivity. It’s important you have the support you need to do your job effectively, and in a way that facilitates positive management of your symptoms. Conversations in the workplace about endometriosis can be difficult, but armed with the right information, expectations and your rights in the workplace, you can make the conversation easier. In this two part blog series, we’ll give you a comprehensive overlook of some of the most frequently encountered issues in the workplace when it comes to talking chronic illness, and some strategies to overcome them, as well as the support available to you.
We asked specialist HR and Management Consultant Tracey Stewart to share some essential information for braving “the talk” with your manager or employer.
Should I tell my employer I have endo?
“It’s really a personal choice for you to make”, Tracey says. “You are not required to disclose to your employer that you have endometriosis unless your condition will affect your work performance to the extent that you are unable to perform the ‘inherent requirements’ of your job or has the potential to create an unsafe workplace for you or other workers. This includes during the recruitment process, upon being offered the job or at any other time during your employment”. From Fair Work:
An inherent requirement is something essential to the position, rather than something added to it.
Understand that if you choose not to tell your employer and your health deteriorates to the point where you are unable to fulfill the inherent requirements of your job or creates a safety risk, then you are obliged to inform your employer. If you’re in a profession with a professional regulatory body, for example AHPRA for health professionals, you’ll also be bound by the standards of your profession, make sure you read, and liaise with this body to ensure you understand the requirements.
It’s always preferable to be proactive and communicate early with your employer if there is a health issue. If you have a positive relationship with your employer and feel that they will support you, then discussing your health issues and providing your employer with sufficient information for them to understand and work with you to help manage your health in the workplace is recommended.
Who should I speak with?
Tracey advises that your line manager is your first port of call if you feel comfortable talking to them. If you have a positive working relationship with your manager, it can be an easier and less intimidating conversation than going to someone higher in the organisation.
If you are not comfortable speaking with your direct manager, Tracey recommends speaking with someone else in the management team, for example another team’s Manager or the Office Manager, or with someone from the company’s HR team or workplace health and safety team.
If you don’t feel comfortable speaking with someone inside the company, you can make contact with an external Employee Assistance Program if the company has one. You can also seek information and assistance from Fair Work, Safe Work Australia, your union, or specialist employment law and HR consultants if you have a concern about your employment status.
How do I talk to employers about endo?
Think of it exactly the same as you would any other illness - normalise the conversation. Try Tracey’s top tips for approaching the conversation:
Speak with them in person, so you have the opportunity to gauge their response and adjust the conversation as necessary.
Respond openly and honestly to any questions they may ask but be mindful of oversharing personal medical information and experiences, only share what you feel comfortable with, which will vary depending on your relationship with your manager or employer
Remember that you have no obligation to share detailed, personal information, focus on symptoms or concerns that directly affect your role
Assist them to understand endometriosis by providing access to reputable sources of information for them to read. Utilise the resources section in the QENDO app, request our brochures on endometriosis, use the QENDO website as a mode of learning for both yourself and your workplace.
Discuss the potential impacts on your workplace performance, preferably before there is an issue, being proactive can go a long way!
Be prepared to explore potential solutions that you are willing to consider if your performance is temporarily or permanently affected by endo
Flexible work options
Reasonable adjustments to the work environment or ways of working
Redeployment
What About My Privacy?
Your health is considered personal information and employers require your consent to share this information with other internal and external parties. If you would prefer they don’t discuss your medical situation with others, advise them of this. Tracey notes that they may be obliged to inform others strictly on a “need to know” basis if your health presents a high workplace health and safety risk to yourself or others -however, they still need your consent to do this.
Can my employer access my health records or contact my medical team?
“When there has been excessive sick leave or ongoing health issues that potentially impact an employee’s ability to fulfill their work duties, an employer has the right to seek further information from the employee’s medical team to help them manage the employee’s work activities and performance”, says Tracey. The employee may refuse to provide consent for their employer to contact their GP or specialist. If the employee refuses to provide consent, the employer has the right to request the employee undertake an independent medical exam (IME) with another GP acceptable to both parties. The employee cannot refuse to undergo the IME. Even if the employee provides consent to contact their own GP, the employer will often request the employee attend an IME as well to obtain a second opinion.
The purpose of the employer contacting the GP, their own or an independent one, is to obtain information about whether the employee is fit and able to carry out their assigned duties. What might that look like? Generally, an employer will provide the doctor with the person’s position description or a list of key tasks and ask if, in the doctor’s opinion, the employee is fit to carry out the tasks. They will also ask if there are any restrictions on their work duties ( examples include: unable to lift more than 5kg, unable to sit or stand for extended periods). Under WH&S legislation, employers are required to make reasonable adjustments to an employee’s work situation if requested to do so.
Employers are not permitted to have specific details about a diagnosis, medications or other treatment strategies, or copies of medical records. Nor are they permitted to access your government health record, if you have one. They are only permitted to ask for a medical opinion about an employee’s ‘fitness for work’ to undertake their current duties and whether there are health and safety concerns that they need to be aware of.
Returning to work post surgery
Although your surgery doesn’t fall under a Workers Compensation claim, a similar Return to Work process should be implemented.
Ask your GP or surgeon to provide written guidance regarding your transition back to full time duties. Information your employer is looking for to support you with a suitable duties program includes:
Movement restrictions (e.g lifting, bending, twisting, reaching)
Approved duties (e.g driving, working with heavy machinery, office work, outdoors work)
Recommendations for number of hours per day and days per week permitted in Week 1, 2 and so on, until you are able to resume your normal workload.
Be prepared for this by asking your doctor in advance to fill out the necessary documentation for your workplace, and ask for anything extra you may need specific to your job role. When checking in on the day of surgery, you can inform the nurse doing your pre-operative checklist of your need for documentation, and this can help prompt and remind your surgeon to include it with discharge paperwork - nurses provide handover to the next link in the perioperative chain, thus they can assist with communicating your needs to the surgical team!
Can my employer change my hours or employment type without my consent?
Under the Fair Work Act and the WHS Act, employers are required to consult with workers when implementing significant changes at the workplace. This means that, generally, your employer cannot change your work arrangements, such as the number of hours or days of work without consulting with you first and obtaining your agreement excluding casual employees where there is no guarantee of ongoing work. Nor can they change your employment type from permanent to casual or force a casual onto a permanent employment contract.
You should refer to your relevant modern award, enterprise agreement and employment contract for specific rules, as they may differ from one award to another, depending on your industry of work for example hospitality or finance.
Can I be sacked because I have endo?
Tracey emphasises that you are protected by Fair Work from being dismissed from your employment simply because you have a chronic illness. The key issue that has to be determined before employers can legally take action to terminate your employment is whether you have the capacity to perform the inherent requirements of your job. A decision to terminate your employment due to inability to fulfil the requirements of your role cannot be made without sufficient medical information and full consideration of adjustments that could be made so you can carry out the role.
The Fair Work Act 2009 protects an employee from being dismissed due to a temporary absence for illness or injury for up to 3 months, or up to three months in total over a 12 month period, or where an employee is on paid personal/carer's leave for the duration of the absence.
After 3 months it becomes a question of whether the employee is likely to return to their duties in the short or medium term. Medical evidence could have a bearing on whether the reason for being terminated is adequate - keep your healthcare team up to date so that they can provide you with support and documentation.
Some things to know if you reasonably believe that you have been dismissed unfairly:
Unfair dismissal is when an employee is dismissed from their job in a harsh, unjust or unreasonable manner. Employees have to be employed for at least 6 months, or 12 months if employed by a small business (fewer than 15 employees), before they can apply for unfair dismissal.
If you think you have been unfairly dismissed, you have to apply to the Fair Work Commission within 21 days of the dismissal taking effect. The 21 day period starts the day after the dismissal.
Even if you have ongoing issues with your chronic illness in the workplace, your employee cannot terminate your employment without making reasonable adjustments to accommodate your illness (these will differ depending on the workplace and role), or without providing you with opportunities to improve your performance through formal performance management processes.
What if my employer is behaving badly?
Severe endometriosis can amount to a physical disability, Tracey says. Discriminating against or harassing a person in their employment because of a disability is against the law. The Fair Work Act 2009, as well as federal and state anti-discrimination laws, provide the right to be free from unlawful discrimination, so you cannot be demoted or otherwise disadvantaged as a result of your health condition. Discrimination includes failing to make reasonable adjustments so a worker can do their job effectively.
If you believe you are being treated poorly – subjected to discrimination, harassment or bullying – due to your health condition, refer to your company’s policies and procedures in the first instance. Review your company’s grievance or complaints policy/procedure as a guide to how you should proceed. Other relevant policies to check out will include discrimination / EEO / bullying; performance management; and leave. Your HR representative can help decipher some of these policies.
If you believe your complaint will not be treated seriously, fairly or confidentially, you can contact an external party such as Fair Work directly. You can also reach out to QENDO via the support line or online support groups to seek support and resources to provide your employer or HR.
QENDO Support Available
Support Line 1800 ASK QENDO
Regional Facebook Groups
QENDO App - resources, as well as sharing your findings from tracking with your support team, which may include your employer if you want to help them better understand what helps or hinders your experience of chronic illness at work
QENDO & Co for LGBTIQA + Community
Stay tuned for Part 2 where Dannielle and Tracey will take you through leave entitlements, flexible work arrangements, and how employers can help an employee with endometriosis by making their workplace more endo friendly!
Tracey Stewart is a highly experienced HR professional with a Masters in Strategic Organisational Development, Graduate Certificate in HR Management, and dual qualifications in project and business management. She is also an accredited Wellness Designs Practitioner, MBTI Certified Practitioner, and a chartered member of the Australian Human Resources Institute (AHRI). She currently acts as QENDO’s recruitment coordinator in addition to managing her consultancy Management 101. She is interested in supported not only those affected by endo, adeno and PCOS, but their carers, being the parent of a daughter with endometriosis and adenomyosis. You can follow Management 101 here.
References
Safe Work Australia. Supporting workers with endometriosis in the workplace, 2019 https://www.safeworkaustralia.gov.au/doc/supporting-workers-endometriosis-workplace
Fair Work Australia https://www.fairwork.gov.au/
Work Safe QLD. Independent Opinions. https://www.worksafe.qld.gov.au/service-providers/medical-services/independent-opinion
Chronic Illness Alliance. Workplace Discrimination, http://www.chronicillness.org.au/workwelfarewills/workplace-discrimination/
Maurice Blackburn. FAQS for employees with chronic illness, https://www.ms.org.au/attachments/mb-eils-information-sheet-faqs-chronic-illness-aug.aspx
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