In a recent Fierce Pharma article, Sanofi, a French multinational pharmaceutical and healthcare company, is going the extra mile to care for and support its employees. The company-wide support program entitled “Cancer & Work: Acting Together,” agrees to secure any employee’s job, including salary and benefits, for a minimum 12 months after diagnosis of cancer or other critical illnesses.
The drugmaker has run the support program in some form for years, through confidential cancer counseling hubs at 30 sites in 2019 with a group of 150 employees who supported 200 employees in the 18 months after its launch. Sanofi also shared an update in its 2022 report. This next iteration of the program is designed to provide social, emotional, and financial support to all employees.
“Many of us will face cancer one way or another in our lives. The last thing you want to be thinking about when you are diagnosed with cancer, or going through treatment, is work. And yet, half of people who receive a cancer diagnosis are frightened to tell their workplace. That is not right,” says Natalie Bickford, chief people officer at Sanofi.
Benefits of the program are:
- Employees will be able to incorporate flexible work arrangements to better navigate cancer and work.
- Employees will gain access to an external psychological support in all countries 24/7 as well as to Sanofi’s network of volunteers.
- The network supports sick employees, caregivers, and managers.
Work to cover “miscellaneous non-medical expenses” is underway, and “permanent employees will become eligible for an unpaid caregiver leave which allows them to carry out caregiving duties for their close family member suffering from a critical illness,” according to the article.
