A special episode of The HR Leader Podcast, produced in partnership with MoleMap, turns the spotlight onto an issue many organisations still treat as peripheral: the prevalence of skin cancers among workers across Australia, and what that reality should mean for employers. Rather than approaching the topic as a seasonal reminder or a generic health message, the conversation places skin health in the same category as other core workplace responsibilities, part of a broader, more holistic view of employee wellbeing.
Host Jerome Doraisamy guides the discussion with MoleMap chief business officer Jaime Schell, drawing out the practical and cultural barriers that stop workplaces from taking skin checks seriously. The episode doesn’t present skin cancer as an abstract risk that belongs only to individuals and their doctors. Instead, it frames the issue as one that intersects with work, organisational duty of care, and the everyday decisions leaders make about what “support” truly looks like.
What emerges is a narrative about responsibility in plain sight. Many employers invest heavily in wellbeing initiatives, yet skin health can still slip into the background, addressed through minimal gestures or left entirely to personal initiative. The podcast challenges that pattern by asking what it means to move beyond surface-level wellbeing and into something more deliberate, consistent, and aligned with an employer’s obligations.
MoleMap’s role, and the strain on specialist care
Schell speaks to MoleMap’s work as a specialist provider and why those services matter for Australians. The episode underscores the practical reality that demand for skin-related care exists across the country, while the availability of specialist support does not always keep pace. In particular, the conversation points to the shortage of dermatologists across Australia, a constraint that affects access and can shape how people seek help in the first place.
Against that backdrop, the episode positions workplace skin checks as more than a convenience. It suggests they can function as a meaningful form of support within a system that has limitations, especially when specialist availability is stretched. The theme isn’t that employers should replace the healthcare system, but that workplaces can play a role in encouraging and enabling employees to look after their skin health, rather than treating it as outside the remit of work.
The discussion also raises a harder question: even when organisations want to do more, what stops them? Schell and Doraisamy explore how aware businesses are of their responsibilities in this space, and the ways uncertainty can freeze progress. The episode points to barristers as part of the landscape that can complicate employer and HR efforts to provide stronger support, highlighting how legal concerns and risk sensitivity can sometimes discourage the very actions that would better protect staff.
From compliance to genuine duty of care
The conversation widens further when Schell delves into the findings of MoleMap’s recent report on skin cancer risks and corporate responsibility. The report’s focus, as described in the episode, sits at the intersection of health risk and organisational accountability. It’s not simply about what skin cancer is, or why it matters, but how workplaces respond when the risk is clear and the implications are serious.
A key thread is the difference between a box-ticking posture and a real duty-of-care mindset. The episode suggests that policies and gestures can exist without creating meaningful outcomes, especially if the underlying approach is compliance-driven rather than people-driven. In that context, “doing something” is not automatically the same as doing enough. The podcast returns to the idea that a holistic approach to wellbeing requires more than meeting minimum expectations, because the minimum can become an excuse to stop.
Schell also speaks about the organisational case for taking better care of staff, including the ROI associated with stronger employee support. The episode connects that idea to the practical steps that need to be taken, without treating the matter as a branding exercise. ESG also enters the conversation as a relevant lens for these decisions, not as a slogan, but as part of a broader discussion about what responsible practice looks like and how organisations can transition beyond mere compliance. The through-line remains consistent: workplaces have a duty to look after workers’ skin health, and the challenge is to respond with seriousness, structure, and intent rather than defaulting to caution or minimalism.
