Need to know:
- Implementing a working carers’ policy that details all the support relevant to employees with caring responsibilities can encourage staff to speak openly about their needs.
- Flexibility is essential, with options including paid and unpaid leave, flexible and part-time hours, sabbaticals and even allowing carers to take their annual leave in hours rather than days.
- Practical and emotional support can be offered through employee assistance programmes (EAPs), care services or more informal employee networks.
The omission of the Employment Bill in this year’s Queen’s Speech was bad news for working carers. But, although it put the prospect of a statutory five days’ unpaid carers’ leave on hold, employers are taking steps to fill the gap.
The omission was disappointing, says Kate Palmer, HR advice and consultancy director at Peninsula UK. “There are no statutory protections designed specifically for working carers,” she says. “This group of employees needs recognition and support.”
Figures from Employers for Carers and the 2011 Census show the scale of the issue. One in seven employees has caring responsibilities, equivalent to around three million people, and every year, more than two million people give up work to care for a loved one. Mark Witte, head of health and risk consulting at Aon, says: “A lot of people are leaving employment as they can’t balance work and caring. This is bad for these individuals but it’s also bad for employers which are losing talent. It’s essential that we raise awareness of what employers can do to support working carers: the situation is only going to get worse as the population ages.”
Raise awareness
There are plenty of ways in which employers can support working carers but the key is to make caring visible in the workplace, says Katherine Wilson, head of Employers for Carers at Carers UK. “Organisations need to make it okay to talk about caring," she explains. "By including references to carers in any literature it helps to normalise it,”
For example, employers could include carers alongside parents when talking about the benefits of flexible working and add a question about caring into the staff survey.
Implementing a formal policy for working carers also helps to raise awareness. This can flag up statutory support that could benefit these employees, such as the right to take time off for emergencies involving dependants and the right to request flexible working after 26 weeks’ service, as well as any additional help the organisation may have implemented.
Having a formal policy also demonstrates that the organisation recognises that employees may need to care for a relative or friend. “Employees can feel they can’t be open about their caring responsibilities as it would be seen as a barrier to promotion,” says Palmer. “Creating a safe environment where they can talk about what they’re going through is important for both parties.”
Offer flexibility
Employees’ caring responsibilities can take many forms, from dealing with an emergency when an elderly parent has a fall to looking after a loved one at end-of-life. This means flexibility is essential.
Among the options available to accommodate these different needs are paid and unpaid leave, flexible and part-time hours and sabbaticals. Some employers are also getting more creative with annual leave, says Palmer. “Some employers will allow carers to break down their annual leave into hours rather than days," she explains. "This can work well if an employee needs to accompany someone to a hospital appointment or go to a meeting at a care home.”
As well as offering flexibility to help an employee balance work and care, employers should think about how they support an employee when they come back to work if they have had time off to care for someone. Eugene Farrell, chairperson of the UK Employee Assistance Professionals Association (EAPA), says: “A return-to-work plan is normal for employees after long-term sickness or maternity leave, so why not for carers? They may have been through a very traumatic experience so it makes sense to provide them with as much support and flexibility as possible when they’re ready to return.”
Support mechanisms
Even before this point, working carers can benefit from support. Navigating the care system is not easy but it can also be very distressing looking after a family member or friend who needs care.
For larger employers, an internal network can provide invaluable support to employees. Enabling employees to share experiences or ask for help from colleagues who are going through something similar can make it less stressful for them.
Employee assistance programmes (EAP) are another useful tool for organisations of all sizes. “An EAP can provide practical information but also emotional support,” says Farrell. “We often find that a carer’s own health and wellbeing needs become secondary so our counsellors can talk to them about how they’re coping with the situation. EAPs also offer virtual counselling sessions, which can work well when someone’s already juggling work and caring.”
Services specifically for care support are also available. As an example, Legal and General offers its Care Concierge service to its group risk customers but also to employers on a standalone basis. Natalie Hyett, programme director for care at Legal and General, explains: “We offer employees three levels of service, from the free guidance level where they’ll receive information about care needs and how to arrange and fund it, through to the liaison level, where we’ll work with them throughout the care journey. We also support employers, helping them with everything from setting up a working carers policy through to raising awareness in the workplace.”
Gaining momentum
More innovation is expected in this space too. For example, Witte has spoken to insurers about a care product that could help this group of employees. “It could work like income protection except the trigger would be taking on caring responsibilities. This would enable employees to take time off without worrying about the finances,” he explains.
There may be some movement on statutory carers’ leave too. Although it failed to make the Queen’s Speech, North East Fife MP Wendy Chamberlain put forward a private member’s bill, the Carer’s Leave Bill, in June, which this will be debated later this year. “It’s great that Chamberlain is focusing on the needs of unpaid carers and keeping the discussion alive in government,” adds Wilson. “Passing this bill would be an important step in recognising and supporting carers in employment. We need to make it easier for people to combine working and caring.”
