South Africa’s leading cancer organisation is calling on employers and human resources’ teams to respond to cancer diagnoses with dignity, fairness and practical flexibility, and it has a guide to help it.

As South Africa marks Workers’ Day (Friday 1 May) the Cancer Association of South Africa (Cansa) is urging employers, HR professionals, managers and employees to recognise that cancer in the workplace is not only a health issue; it is a matter of human rights, fairness and practical support.

To help workplaces navigate this complex reality Cansa has published Human Rights and Cancer in the Workplace: A Guide for Employers and Employees, available for free download from the Cansa website. Developed to help organisations respond to cancer with compassion, consistency and respect for South African labour law, the guide is designed to be as useful to HR teams as it is to affected employees and their colleagues.

It starts with dignity

Zodwa Sithole, Cansa’s head of advocacy and a member of the team that developed the guide, said Workers’ Day is a timely reminder that employee rights must extend to some of the most vulnerable moments in a person’ s working life.

“Cancer does not remove a person’s right to be treated with dignity at work,” he said. “Employees affected by cancer may be managing debilitating treatment side effects – such as fatigue – or may be unable to attend work as regularly as before. They face fear, financial pressure and deep uncertainty about their future. At the same time employers are often unsure how to respond appropriately. This guide bridges that gap, offering practical guidance rooted in compassion, human rights, and South African workplace realities.”

More than a health crisis

A cancer diagnosis, the guide explains, reaches far beyond physical health. It can affect employment, income, family life, emotional well-being, job security and a person’s fundamental sense of identity. How a workplace responds in those critical moments can either protect human dignity and support recovery or compound stress, discrimination, and trauma.

The guide outlines the key legal frameworks that protect employees with cancer, including the Constitution of South Africa, the Employment Equity Act, the Labour Relations Act, and the Basic Conditions of Employment Act. It also makes clear that employers should explore all reasonable adjustments before considering incapacity proceedings or dismissal.

What reasonable support looks like

Practical adjustments may include:

• Adjusted or flexible working hours
• Temporary remote or hybrid work arrangements
• Reduced workload or adjusted performance expectations during treatment
• Flexible leave for treatment and recovery
• Temporary reassignment to less physically demanding tasks

Critically, the guide emphasises that support must be tailored to the individual – their specific role, health status and treatment plan – rather than applied as a one-size-fits-all policy.

“A supportive workplace response can make an enormous difference,” Sithole pointed out. “It can help reduce stigma, protect confidentiality, guide reasonable flexibility and ensure employees are not unfairly pushed out of the workplace at the very moment they most need stability and support.”

Confidentiality is non-negotiable

Cansa stresses that disclosure and confidentiality must be handled with care. Employees are under no legal obligation to inform colleagues of a cancer diagnosis, and all medical information must remain strictly confidential unless the employee gives explicit consent or disclosure is required by law.

Tailored support

The guide also addresses the wider workplace impact of cancer, offering guidance for colleagues affected by a team member’s diagnosis and for employees who are caregivers for a loved one with cancer. Managers are reminded that a cancer diagnosis does not automatically mean an employee is unable to work, and many people find genuine purpose, routine and emotional benefit in continuing to work in some capacity during or after treatment.

When dignity leads, support follows

“Workers’ Day is not only about recognising labour rights in principle,” said Sithole. “It’s about how those rights are lived every day, including when an employee is facing a life-changing diagnosis. When dignity leads support follows. And workplaces become spaces where people can heal, contribute and belong.”