Preparing for caring in the workplace

Katherine Wilson, Head of Employment, Carers UK – 31/1/2020

Talking to EfC members over the years, I have been increasingly struck by how prevalent caring has become within their workforce, even if ‘carers’ often still seem so hidden at work.  For some of us it’s sudden; someone you love is taken ill or has an accident, your child is born with a disability. For others caring creeps up unnoticed: your parents can’t manage on their own any longer, your partner’s health gets gradually worse.

Research published by Carers UK last year showed that 1 in 7 of the UK workforce are now caring for an older or disabled relative or friend, a big increase from the Census 2011 figure of 1 in 9. So why aren’t carers more visible at work?

Some of our members talk about a ‘double barrier’ to identification in the workplace. Firstly, many employees don’t see themselves as carers and may therefore not come forward for support. Others may not think workplace support applies to them or they may feel uncomfortable about raising personal, and often emotionally difficult, issues at work.

But, with latest research for Carers Rights Day 2019 showing that two thirds of UK adults can expect to care unpaid for a loved one in their lifetime, caring is becoming the norm, rather than something that is done by a minority.  The average person now has a 50:50 chance of caring by 50 – long before they reach retirement age. With an ageing workforce due to later state pensions, more of us will be working for longer while caring.

So, how are employers preparing for caring to ensure they are equipped to support staff who are or may become carers? Over the last decade and more EfC members – large and small, across the private, public and not for profit sectors – have been addressing carer support in a number of ways:

• Firstly, preparing the ground by raising awareness and visibility of caring (and carers) in the workplace. Enabling carers to identify themselves by talking about what is meant by ‘caring’ and ‘carers’ and including this in workplace surveys and communications; making it ‘OK to talk about caring’.
• Secondly, making support for carers explicit in workplace policies or guidance, e.g. flexible working and leave arrangements. Including information about caring in line manager education and resources.
• Thirdly, providing practical support. Some members have put tools in place such as carers passports to enable one-to-one conversations with line managers about support needs. Other (larger employers) offer employee assistance or health and wellbeing programmes. Many others (of all sizes) have found that simple things like giving permission to make/take personal phone calls can also really help to make a difference.
• Fourthly, connecting and engaging carers in the workplace. Offering peer support like staff networks or a ‘go to’ person with experience of caring who is happy to talk to others.
• Last but not least, promoting support for carers regularly and at all levels of the organisation. Members tell us champions and role models, especially at senior level, have been critical here in raising awareness and increasing take up of support.

This practical experience has formed the basis of the criteria of Carer Confident, EfC’s employer benchmarking scheme launched last year.

There is a role for us all here in raising awareness and signposting carers to support in the workplace, whether we are carers, colleagues or managers (who will often be carers too). Everyone in the workplace can help to make a difference in reaching carers earlier – so they get the right support, in the right place, at the right time, and combine  work and care healthily and productively.