The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) and University of Sheffield have conducted a survey of 970 unpaid carers in employment – the first representative survey of working carers in England and Wales.
The report addresses three research questions:
- What are the challenges working carers face?
- What forms of support do employers provide to working carers, and how does this vary across sectors and types of organisation?
- How do these forms of support benefit working carers and the organisations for which they work?
Some of the key findings include:
- Carers struggle to balance their caring responsibilities with their work commitments. The majority of those surveyed provide care in addition to full-time paid work.
- Employers can do more to support carers in the workplace. Only two-fifths of working carers believed their employer was carer-friendly, with more than a quarter failing to discuss their caring role with anyone at their workplace, most commonly because they believed nothing would change if they did.
- Providing carers with support benefits both carer and employer – namely, by improving the wellbeing of employees, translating to reduced absenteeism and better retention for the business.
To explore these findings in depth, download the full research report: Supporting working carers.
Do you work for a Carer Friendly Employer?
If you work for a business, organisation or service that are sympathetic and make adjustments to support your caring responsibilities, why not encourage them to sign-up to Forward Carers Carer Friendly Brum initiative? It is free for them to join; they will receive free advertising and free ‘Carer Aware’ training to increase their understanding of Carers in their workplace and Carers who buy/use their products or services. Business, providers and organisations can sign-up here to join the scheme.
Do you work or go somewhere that is Carer Friendly?
Do you work for someone who recognises and supports you in your caring role? Before Covid-19, maybe you used to go to a coffee shop, community centre, sports club or museum that were accommodating to you as a Carer and to the person you care for. Or maybe there is a corner shop or other business that have gone out of their way to help you in your caring role during the pandemic? You can encourage them to join our Carer Friendly campaign and ask if they will offer a discount to Carers who have one of our Carers Cards. You can even nominate them for one of our Carer Friendly Business Awards! The deadline to nominate is 25 September so you have plenty of time.
