Financial Protection
Unum’s Vocational
Rehabilitation in Practice
Case Study
Sue Park
Because everyone
needs a back-up plan
Sue has a busy job in the
payroll department of a large
IT management and consultancy
business. She provides payroll and
staff information, working with a
variety of clients via phone and
email. When she was diagnosed
with throat cancer, requiring
invasive treatment and a period
off work, she was devastated.
The case
Sue first noticed discomfort and pain in
her throat early in 2011. She had a biopsy
and was naturally delighted when checks
for anything sinister proved negative.
However, the discomfort continued,
and a scan along with a further biopsy
several months later confirmed she had
throat cancer.
Sue’s treatment involved painful
radiotherapy for more than 6 weeks
and the extremely strong chemotherapy
drug prescribed caused severe skin
complaints. Sores and spots covered
her face and body, and made her
very distressed about her appearance.
Talking, swallowing and eating also
became very painful. She began to lose
weight and suffer with severe fatigue.
Instead of making her feel better, her
cocktail of drugs had the opposite effect.
She stopped going out socially and slept
all the time. In Sue’s own words, she
really reached “rock bottom” during this
period of her life.
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The Unum approach
Despite all she was going through, Sue
was determined to go back to work. As
her employer had an Income Protection
policy, she had access to a team of
Vocational Rehabilitation Consultants
(VRCs) who could help her and provide a
practical return to work plan.
Along with the financial peace of mind
of knowing the policy paid a percentage
of her salary, Sue was referred to her
VRC, Ben Wilson.
Ben visited Sue to discuss how best to help
her achieve her goal of returning to the
workplace, giving her invaluable support,
encouragement and guidance on how to
manage her fatigue levels. Ben advised
Sue not to run before she could walk and,
instead, to pace herself allowing her to
gradually build up her hours.
He also helped Sue to look at her
own objectives realistically. Over the
course of two months, she gradually
increased her hours until she was back
up to her normal 30 hour week, with
the understanding from all parties that
the hours would be looked at again
if necessary. As Sue’s hours rose, her
payments through her Income Protection
policy were adjusted accordingly.
Sue has since found the invasive
treatment has left her fatigued over a
30-hour week and her employer is now
exploring ways to accommodate a further
reduction in her hours.
Continued overleaf
Sue’s viewpoint
Sue felt that without the support of her family and Ben, she
would never have got through it all. Her disabled daughter’s
positive, can-do approach has helped her achieve so much
and Sue knew she had to adopt the same ‘head down’
approach, and set herself the challenge to look to the future
and return to work.
“Ben was compassionate, helpful and never patronising,”
said Sue of her VRC. “I found him to be organised and
prompt when dealing with any of my questions, and I
honestly believe without his help, I would not have managed
to return to work so quickly”.
A VRC’s perspective
“My first meeting with Sue was aimed simply at understanding her needs and
introducing Unum’s rehabilitation service,” said Ben. “Sue outlined a real desire to return to
work, describing the social aspect that she had lost through her absence. Armed with that
feedback, we decided to open further discussions with her employer.
“Sue’s employer was very supportive throughout the entire process and confirmed a willingness
to accommodate her as best they could. The treatment Sue had undergone meant she found
verbal discussions to be particularly difficult. While telephone work typically represented a large
part of Sue’s day-to-day work, her employer and colleagues agreed adjustments, meaning she
could avoid this type of work during the early stages of her recovery.
“Unfortunately, following an inconclusive scan, Sue was required to undergo a further
biopsy. As a result of this, Sue was unable to work for a number of weeks but quickly found
her feet again and jumped in right where she left off.
“We completed frequent reviews at meetings involving all parties, and through this process,
we were able to agree gradual increases in Sue’s work commitments.
“Sue indicated early in the process that she had been considering a permanent reduction in
her work hours. We agreed at the time not to make any set decisions until we had a clearer
picture of her prognosis and recovery. After a few months of work activities, and as we
neared the end of her return to work process, Sue was able to negotiate a change in her
contracted hours, with full knowledge of her physical capacity.”
Sue is now back at work, and with her employer, is trying to find hours to suit them both.
Sue has found the value of her work, and the opportunity to reconnect with her colleagues,
a very positive experience.
“It was a real pleasure to work with her and Sue’s determination undoubtedly provides
inspiration for all,” concluded Ben.
Registered office:
Milton Court
Dorking
Surrey RH4 3LZ
Tel: 01306 887766
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Copyright © Unum Limited 2013
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