Lack of social care services adversely affecting working carers

Two thirds of employers in England are seeing the health, wellbeing and productivity of their workforces adversely impacted by a shortage of support from social care services, according to a new survey.

Carers at work

 

Two thirds of employers in England want more practical assistance from care and support services to ensure their staff with unpaid caring responsibilities are able to stay in work, according to a new survey by Carers UK.

Previous research by the charity suggests each day 600 people give up work to care for older or disabled relatives, at an enormous cost to the economy.

With the Government’s furlough scheme scaled back but many care and support services still closed, the charity says  increasing numbers of working carers are having to consider reducing their hours, or even quitting work to care.

Responding to a Carers UK’s survey before the pandemic, 72% of employers said caring and the ageing population will put more pressure on their staff and 64% believed it may lead to loss of valuable employees if staff give up work to care.

The charity says the pandemic means an additional 2.8 million workers have had to pick up caring responsibilities in a matter of weeks and its new survey shows employers are receiving an influx of requests for flexible working hours to accommodate caring responsibilities. Some are choosing to provide carer’s leave and special leave to cope with the current situation.

Helen Walker, Chief Executive of Carers UK, said: “When you’re caring for someone and you can’t get the support you need from social care services, it can become impossible to stay in work.

“Our survey shows that businesses are now having to manage the fallout of this increasingly common dilemma for staff who are juggling work and care for a relative.

“Just as childcare used to be a key issue stopping women from continuing to work, now caring is holding back thousands of people from enjoying a fulfilling career and retaining an income.

“If the Government wants to ensure jobs and keep the economy thriving it has to recognise how big an issue caring has become for a huge swathe of workers – and their employers. Investing in social care and delivering an ambitious plan for reform would allow thousands of people to benefit from a job and improve productivity across industries.”

Two thirds of employers wanted to see services that are available outside of normal working hours and clearer, more accessible public information on how and where working carers and their families can get practical help with caring.

A similar proportion (68%) said recognition of carers by GP and health professionals, as well as timely and ongoing support, was their top priority to help them look after carer health and wellbeing at work.



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