Carers Week – 10-16 June 2024
We look at how the increase in the number of carers is impacting employers and consider, alongside the statutory Carers Leave, what organisations can do to support those staff who have caring responsibilities.
The theme of the annual campaign for 2024, is ‘Putting carers on the map’. It will highlight the increasing pressures on carers, to campaign for much-needed recognition and support and raising awareness about the challenges carers face in their finances, employment, health and wellbeing.
According to Carers UK, as many as 7.7 million people in the UK now juggle their unpaid caring responsibilities with paid employment). This translates as one in seven of your workforce caring for someone who is older, disabled or ill.
The number of people who combine work with care is likely to increase because the population and the workforce are ageing. Between 2010 and 2020, every year, 4.3 million people became unpaid carers, equating to 12,000 people a day.
In their State of Caring survey, the charity Carers UK found that 82% of carers said the impact of caring on their physical and mental health would be a challenge over the coming year, with nearly 60% adding that being valued as a carer would improve their wellbeing.
What are the impacts?
- Retention: it is estimated 600 people a day give up work as a result of caring responsibilities. With the peak age for caring between 46 to 65, this means employers are losing staff at a stage in their careers where their skills and experience are most valuable.
- Increased recruitment and training costs: With the loss of key staff, it is inevitable that employers will find they are spending more time and money on recruiting and training replacement staff.
- Health and wellbeing: Research has shown that employees with significant caring responsibilities are twice as likely as those without to be in poor health. Inevitably this can lead to an impact on employee performance, productivity and absence levels.
- Management time: With the impact on wellbeing there will be a knock-on impact for the amount of time line managers need to spend on managing internal processes, such as sickness and performance.
Other consequences include poor morale and engagement amongst staff.
What can you do as an employer?
Aside from delivering on your statutory obligations, other actions you can take to support carers in their workplaces, could include:
- Policies and guidance: Ensure a carers policy is in place, incorporating the statutory legislation requirements as well as any enhancements the organisation wishes to offer. Ensure employees are aware of this policy and their entitlements and highlight any other relevant policies, such as flexible working and time off for dependants, to assist in providing timely guidance particularly for carers who may need immediate support.
- Policies and guidance: Ensure a carers policy is in place, incorporating the statutory legislation requirements as well as any enhancements the organisation wishes to offer. Ensure employees are aware of this policy and their entitlements and highlight any other relevant policies, such as flexible working and time off for dependants, to assist in providing timely guidance particularly for carers who may need immediate support.
- Campaigns to raise awareness and provide support: As well as celebrating national campaigns such as Carers Week, consider holding specific events to focus on caring responsibilities, provide guidance on internal support available and increase awareness in all staff.
- Carers champion and employee forums: Employee forums can create a supportive culture for carers, to talk to colleagues in similar situations. They can also provide a feedback mechanism for employers when reviewing their employment practices on supporting carers at work. Similarly appointing a carer’s champion, usually a member of senior management, can serve to demonstrate commitment from the top.
- Line management training: Line managers will be at the forefront of supporting carers within their teams, so they will need to have a complete understanding of the support offered by the organisation. It will also be essential that they are equipped with the skills in handling sensitive conversations with their staff, to discuss their caring responsibilities and agree measures of support that can be put in place.
- Employee Assistance Programmes (EAP): If you have an EAP, your provider may well offer online learning resources that can provide support to carers on coping strategies to balance their work and care responsibilities.
- Signposting to external support: Finding information about care and support services can be overwhelming as caring situations can vary enormously: some people become carers overnight, while others have caring responsibilities for some time before realising that they need help. This might include signposting to charities who can support such as Carers UK, Age UK and Contact a Family or Age UK, or external bodies and website such as Citizens Advice or the NHS.
Research illustrates that for many employees, working whilst also providing caring support in some form, will continue to be a necessity at various points throughout their working life. You can play a key role in mitigating the detrimental effects on employees of combining work and care, with the business benefits of increased employee resilience, productivity and performance.
The cost to employers of high turnover and underperformance is much greater than the cost of flexibility. In addition, those organisations that actively support their staff with caring responsibilities are likely to see an increase in employee morale and loyalty.
