Rejected petition Introduce paid leave for employees to attend routine breast screening appointments as legislation.
Currently there is no legislation for any time off for routine breast screening appointments. We know breast screening detects cancer that would otherwise go undetected.
In September 2022, I attended routine breast screening with no symptoms whatsoever. A 4 cm invasive tumour was detected - if I had not been able to attend that appointment, the outlook may have been different for me. We need to encourage women to attend appointments and a change in legislation will help.
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At a time when women are working for longer, we need to offer more health related support within their employment.
Around 55,000 women are diagnosed with breast cancer each year. Employers should be encouraging women to attend routine breast screening, as early detection can make a big difference to the recovery and the amount of treatment needed. This can have a positive impact on the NHS and resources.
Even if employers agree to time off, we need legislation to ensure it is paid time off. Women between the ages of 50 -70, should not be penalised for attending routine life saving screening, once every 3 years.
Within 3 weeks, almost 50 businesses signed up to the JG HR Pledge, committing to giving paid time off for their employees to attend routine breast screening.
This shows businesses will support a change in legislation. A change that could save lives.
Why was this petition rejected?
It’s about something that the Senedd or Welsh Government is not responsible for.
Employment is an area in which the Senedd and/or Welsh Government only have limited competence to legislate. This would therefore be a matter for the UK Government or Parliament.
As a result, it is not possible for the Senedd to take the action called for by your petition.
Further information about the powers and responsibilities of the Senedd can be found here: https://senedd.wales/how-we-work/our-role/powers/
You may wish to consider petitioning the UK Parliament about this issue instead: https://petition.parliament.uk/
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