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March 2025 marks Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month.

Receiving a disclosure of a cancer diagnosis from one of your employees can be very distressing. You will be deeply concerned for your employee’s health and wellbeing, whilst also worried about how their sickness may affect your business operations.

Fortunately, there are several steps you can take to support your employees.

From making reasonable adjustments to providing compassionate support, you can empower your employees in the workplace and enable a smooth transition back after a period of absence – helping your employee to take care of their health without compromising on the success of your business.

Cancer and employees’ rights

If an employee has cancer, this is regarded as a disability under UK law, meaning employees with cancer are protected against discrimination under the Equality Act 2010. This applies to those whose treatment has been completed and whose cancer is in remission.

As an employer, you are legally obliged to support your employees and cannot treat them unfavourably because of a cancer diagnosis.

Reasonable adjustments

Under the Equality Act, you are obliged to try to make reasonable adjustments for disabled employees.

Reasonable adjustments are changes to the employee’s job or workplace that enable them to continue working. Examples of reasonable adjustments could include:

• Altered working hours or shift patterns.
• Allowing paid time off for to medical appointments.
• Implementing a phased return to work after time off.
• Factoring in extra breaks to prevent exhaustion and further ill health.
• Making changes to the employee’s job description.
• Changing performance targets.
• Providing assistive equipment or software.

You should ask your employee about what reasonable adjustments can be made to assist them.

Every person affected by cancer will have different needs and require different adjustments. It is important not to assume what your employee will need – open communication is vital for ensuring you can agree on suitable adjustments to support your employee.

The duty to make reasonable adjustments does not mean you are obliged to meet all requested adjustments. However, you must have a good reason for not agreeing to a requested adjustment.

Confidentiality

An employee’s right to keep their medical information private is protected under UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018.

The Access to Medical Reports Act 1988 also states that you must ask your employee’s permission to get a medical report from their doctor or other health professional. Your employee has the right to:

• View the report before it is given to you.
• Refuse permission for you to get the report.

You may want to talk to your employee about whether they want colleagues and clients to be told about their condition. You must not give out this information without your employee’s consent.

You should take care to protect your employee’s personal records, including emails and any meeting notes containing details about their condition. This type of personal data should only be used with your employee’s permission.

Paying an employee on sick leave

Your employee may be eligible for Statuary Sick Pay (SSP), which is £116.75 a week for up to 28 weeks.

You can offer more if you have a company sick pay scheme, but you cannot offer less.

Your company scheme (which may also be called ‘contractual’ or ‘occupational’ sick pay) must be included in an employment contract.

Employees who are off work sick for more than four weeks may be considered long-term sick. This is likely to be the case for employees with a cancer diagnosis, due to the length of treatment and the time it takes to recover.

The right to accrue paid annual leave continues while an employee is on sick leave, even if that period exceeds 12 months.

You cannot force your employees to take annual leave when they’re eligible for sick leave.

They must also be permitted to carry over their full holiday entitlement to the following year.

However, employees do not have the right to carry over their holiday entitlement for an indefinite period whilst on extended sickness absence.

You can seek to cap the length of time in which any such holiday entitlement must be taken. Current case law suggests that this period should be limited to a maximum of 18 months.

Dismissing a long-term sick employee

Dismissing an employee because of long-term sickness from their cancer diagnosis should always be a last resort following a sickness management process.

If your employee thinks they have been unfairly dismissed or discriminated against, they could take their case to an employment tribunal.

Remember, it is against the law to treat an employee less favourably because they have cancer. This amounts to discrimination under the Equality Act.

Your sickness management process should include exploring all other options fully, such as flexible or part-time work, or asking your employee to do different work (with training if necessary).

Employees could make a claim for failure to make reasonable adjustments.

You must always consult with your employee about when they could return to work and if their health will improve.

Supporting you and your employees

A cancer diagnosis is an emotional time for everyone involved, and we know that supporting your employees’ health and wellbeing is of the utmost importance.

Our specialist employment law team can advise you on your legal responsibilities as an employer and how you can support employees through periods of ill health.

If one of your employees has been diagnosed with cancer, it is essential to provide appropriate support and meet your legal obligations. Contact us today for tailored advice and guidance.

Launching your first business is an exciting step – but one that must be prepared for thoroughly to avoid any problems and mitigate risks.

It is relatively easy to set up and run a limited company in the UK. However, it is essential that you take proper advice and comply with relevant legislation.

Here’s our quick guide to setting up your first business in the UK.

Naming the company

As a first step, you should choose a company name.

You cannot choose the same name as an existing company, or a name which is sufficiently similar so as to cause confusion. You can check whether the name you would like is already registered by accessing the Companies House website at: www.companieshouse.gov.uk.

You should also be careful that you do not use purported “sensitive words” in your company name. For example, you cannot have offensive words in the name, or words that imply an erroneous association, such as “Royal” or “Chartered”.

As a limited company (limited by either shares or guarantee), your company name must also end with “Limited” or “Ltd,” or the Welsh equivalent where applicable.

Our expert corporate solicitors can advise you on naming your company according to the rules and carry out a search of the Companies House register on your behalf.

The legal basics

Once you have chosen your name, it is time to incorporate your company.

A business cannot operate as a limited company until it has been incorporated at Companies House under the Companies Act 2006.

Once registered, you will receive a certificate of incorporation with your company number to show that your company has been incorporated together with your company’s articles of association (the “Articles”).

The Articles act as an internal rulebook for the company and describe how the company will be run, shareholders’ rights, any restricted objects, and details of what the directors may and may not do.

You can either choose to adopt “model” Articles, which contain certain default provisions for companies limited by shares or guarantee, or you can tailor your company’s Articles to include specific provisions – for example, you may wish to have different classes of shares with different voting rights.

Our corporate team is equipped to incorporate private companies and draft bespoke Articles to meet the specific needs of your business.

Officers of the company

All private limited companies must have at least one director.

The director/s run the company on behalf of the shareholders and have a number of legal duties towards the company. These duties are contained in the Companies Act 2006 and include:

• A duty to promote the success of the company.
• A duty to avoid conflicts of interest.
• A duty not to accept benefits from third parties.
• A duty to declare an interest in a proposed transaction or arrangement.
• A duty to exercise reasonable care, skill and diligence.

Apart from making business decisions, the directors are responsible for preparing and delivering documents on behalf of the company to Companies House and HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC), such as the company’s accounts and the annual return.

The role of the director is defined by case law and confirmed by the Companies Act 2006. Effectively a director should always act in good faith and in the interests of the company as a whole by declaring any conflicts of interest and not making personal profits at the expense of the company.

If in doubt, you should always seek professional advice, as acting outside the scope of applicable legislation can lead to fines, disqualification from acting as a director, personal liability for the company’s debts or even, in some cases, a criminal conviction.

Registered office and record keeping

It is a requirement of the Companies Act 2006 for every company to have a registered office at all times, and this must be a physical location where notices and letters can be sent to the company, and also where the company’s records that are required for inspection should be held.

You need to make sure that the address of your company’s registered office is on business letters, order forms and the website.

Employing staff

If you are going to be employing staff, you will need to be aware of the relevant law in relation to their employment.

This will cover not only their rights whilst employed, but also during the recruitment process and after their employment has ended.

You will need to consider what will be in your recruitment and employment contracts, how you will ensure compliance with employment law, and understand PAYE and National Insurance Contributions (NIC).

We can work with you to ensure you are aware of your responsibilities and obligations as an employer and to ensure you have the appropriate documentation and procedures in place in what can be a very complex area.

Insurance

Insurances is a legal requirement for most businesses and is vital to protect companies against claims made by staff and members of the public.

The three main insurances which you may need are:

1. Employers’ Liability Insurance: This protects your company against claims made by employees if they believe that an accident or illness they have suffered has been caused as a direct result of their work. It is a legal requirement to have cover of at least £5 million – your company could be fined if you do not have sufficient insurance in place.
2. Public Liability Insurance: This protects your company against claims brought by members of the general public or customers who claim to have been injured or had their property damaged while on company premises.
3. Professional Indemnity Insurance: This covers your company against claims for loss or damage made by a client or third party if your company has been found to have been negligent in some or all of the services provided. Many professions and companies – such as solicitors, accountants, and architects – are required to have professional indemnity insurance cover as a regulatory requirement, or as part of their professional authorisation. Other consultants also choose to have this type of insurance.

We can advise you on your business’s requirements and help you decide which protections are suitable for your company.

Bribery

You must be aware of the risks of bribery and take every step to protect your business.

Under the Bribery Act 2010, it is a criminal offence for an individual or commercial organisation to offer or receive a bribe to bring about or reward the improper performance of a function or activity.

This includes bribing a foreign public official, even if that person has demanded a bribe.

It is important for you to ensure that you have adequate procedures in place and can demonstrate this through record-keeping and audit practices. The areas you should concentrate on are procurement, sales, marketing, hospitality, cash or credit handling and charitable activity.

We can advise you about how best to protect your business from infringing the Bribery Act.

Supporting your business ambitions

Starting out on your business journey is an exciting time, but one that is fraught with potential legal risks.

Our company and commercial law experts at Palmers Solicitors deal with all aspects of company law, advising you and your business at all points in its lifecycle, from incorporation to sale or dissolution.

We will help you handle your legal obligations, leaving you more time to focus on growing your business.

For tailored advice on setting up your first business, please contact our company and commercial law specialists today.

Palmers Solicitors is delighted to announce the opening of a new office in Chelmsford.

Acquiring new premises is no quick process, but luckily, we do not have to wait much longer.

On Friday, 14th March, senior team members, including Ricky Valks, Jeremy Sirrell, and Carey Jacobs, visited the site for the official handover of the keys, marking a significant milestone in the firm’s expansion.

While the office is not yet open to the public, it will serve as a central hub for Palmers Solicitors’ wide-ranging legal expertise, including family law, corporate law, and property law.

The move comes as Palmers Solicitors undergoes significant growth and expansion – a demonstration of our commitment to providing the very best legal services to the community.

With picturesque surroundings, rich heritage attractions, and an array of shops and activity sites, Chelmsford is going to make a wonderful home for our new office, and we look forward to becoming part of the city’s vibrant, bustling local economy.

Watch this space for more information!