Experiences of illness, treatment, rehabilitation and caring may be impacting on your business and your employees.

Management of these issues – to benefit your business or organisation, to protect and care for all employees, and to achieve the best possible outcome for the employee affected – may be critical to your ongoing viability and to meeting production needs and retaining valued employees.

So if you are a manager or employer, there are many ways in which you can support staff who are caring for someone with a serious illness or condition (or who themselves are seriously ill or have been unwell).

It may be worthwhile reviewing your existing policies and procedures to see how your organisation can best meet the needs of these employees.

A range of resources and website links are available to assist employers in this regard as part of an Australian Best Practice Model for Life Threatening Illness in the Workplace. The model was auspiced by Palliative Care Victoria in partnership with Creative Ministries Network, and funded by the Australian Government.

There are information resource sheets on:

• • human resource principles and guidelines
• • workplace assessment checklists
• • occupational health and safety guidelines
• • grief and loss occupational health and safety guidelines
• The best practice model highlights how providing flexibility for people with life-threatening illnesses and their carers can benefit a business or organisation in a number of ways:
• • improved ability to attract and retain skilled employees
• • reduced staff resignations and savings in recruitment and training costs
• • reduced absenteeism if employees can take a few hours off work instead of a whole day
• • increased staff morale, loyalty, commitment, productivity and performance
• • enhanced public image as an employer who cares about employees’ commitments and contributes to the well being of the community.

Resources can be downloaded at:

http://www.pallcarevic.asn.au/general/caring-communities/

Or, you can have them posted out to you by ordering on 03 9662 9644 during business hours.