Getting the right fit

Going back to work after invasive cancer surgery is never going to be easy. For Graham Smith (not his real name), it was helped enormously by having a sympathetic line manager. When Smith asked to start back at his public-sector finance job on shorter hours after six weeks, it was no problem. When he had to take another week off because an infection developed, no one moaned. If he had needed extra time off, there was a contingency plan in place.

However, throughout Smith’s fluctuating fortunes in the wake of a prostatectomy, he had to negotiate directly with his manager, who had to trust him. When he felt fit enough to try a phased return, the GP had no choice but to declare him fit for work.