07th June 2010 Caring for the Carers
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Approximately 3 million carers across the UK are juggling employment and their caring responsibilities, making up over 12% of the workforce or one in every eight employees. And the percentage of carers in the workplace is steadily growing with over 2 million people becoming carers each year.
Being a carer is like having a whole other job on top of your normal employment, family commitment, hobbies and interests. Caring is not a nine-to-five role and, because of its unpredictable nature, can be hard to fit around a paid job. Because of this many feel they have no choice but to cut the hours they work, choose a different career path or give up work completely. But it does not have to be this way and there are simple things which the Government, employers and HR professional can offer to help this vital group manage their work and caring responsibilities.
This year’s Carers Week theme highlights just this. ‘A life of my own’ focuses on the many parts of life that most of us take for granted, for example family gatherings, going on holidays and even just a meal out with work colleagues, and how caring impacts this. It also highlights areas of support which carers themselves have requested in order for them to have a life of their own. These include:
- Access to relevant and practical information to help them with their caring role
- The opportunity to take a break when they need it
- Support in times of crisis
- Financial support
And it is here where employers and HR professional can offer a supportive hand. Last month the Queen outlined in the Queen’s Speech measurers for the extension of the right to request flexible working to all workers. Currently, most carers already have the right to request this but up to 79,000 do notbecause of the way the complex definition of carer has been put together. This provides a great opportunity for you to review your definition of flexible working and policies for carers in the workplace. This will ensure that the carers amongst your workforce have the opportunity to request working flexibly to help them manage their external responsibilities and continue working.
Another area of support is through the provision of employee assistance programmes (EAP). These provide valuable support to those in times of crisis or who are finding life difficult, be it for financial or health reasons by providing access to trained counsellors. If you offer an EAP to your employees, ensure you are communicating the services it offers to all staff and especially those who you are aware are carers. By doing so you can make sure they understand and can access the EAP in a time of need.
Whilst there are many other ways you can help support carers in your business, for example exploring opportunities with the Government’s ‘Caring with Confidence’ scheme and ensuring line managers are supportive of carers’ needs, you can also show your support by signing up to HR Magazine’s ‘Make care less taxing’ campaign. HR Magazine wants to persuade the Government to introduce a single, tax-exempt care voucher to enable employers to help staff who have caring responsibilities for elderly and disabled dependants, as well those who have children.
Research by YouGov for the magazine found that a third of employees who are not currently caring for an elderly relative expect to do so in the next 20 years. With one in 10 of these expecting to give up work permanently or temporarily if they have to care, the worrying impact would be a 3% loss to the future workforce.
A single care voucher would work like the existing childcare voucher scheme, where employers provide vouchers as a benefit, and eligible working parents with children under 16 do not have to pay tax or national insurance contributions on the first £55 per week, or £243 per month. If you would like to sign up to the petition please click here.
