'WORKERS NEED PAID LEAVE FOR CANCER TESTING'

A BREAST cancer survivor has called for a change in the law to give workers paid time off to attend routine screenings.

- NICOLE COLLINS

Julie Grabham, 56, launched a petition after her own breast cancer was discovered during a routine screening in 2022 - despite having no symptoms.

She has taken on the Department of Business and Trade (DBT) to demand paid time off for cancer screenings, including mammograms and cervical smears.

And while 250 business have joined the pledge - and more than 1,000 people have signed her petition - the government says the there is "no ambition" to reform employment law because of changes to flexible working rules.

The mum-of-two, from Lampeter, said: "It's absolutely bonkers. They are not in the real world, unfortunately.

"Relying on flexible working to cover appointments is absolutely bonkers. People aren’t going to get an appointment on the same day as their flexible working. Also, companies won't always give it.

"The fight goes on-I'm not stopping. It is hard to keep campaigning when you're trying to do everything else.

"Sometimes I think 'why should I as a cancer patient have to fight?! But it's in me to make a change.

"If I was working for a bad employer that day, I wouldn't have taken my appointment as a holiday day because I thought I was fit and well - God forbid if I hadn't gone that day.

"I do get frustrated when I see celebrities on TV who say you must check your breasts - well we have to make it easier for people to go."