In this week’s blog, I thought I would address the issues of working and caring from the employers and Human Resources perspective.

My families are often trying to juggle working and caring with little support from their employer and as the research shows, many give up the struggle and give up work.

These are often your most experienced staff that you can ill afford to lose with a knock-on effect for your business, your remaining employees and potentially your profit.

Even if they continue to work, they are often distracted, stressed and may make mistakes that can have serious consequences for your business.

Carers UK is calling on the Government to improve conditions for people juggling work and care by introducing a new right of five to 10 days of paid care leave.

UK companies could save up to £4.8 billion a year in unplanned absences and a further £3.4 billion in improved employee retention, Carers UK said.

I am already aware of cases that are moving towards the Employment Tribunals for Unfair/Constructive Dismissal when employees have felt compelled to leave their job due to lack of support from their employer.

We can help you to support your employees when they are trying to juggle working and caring enabling them to continue to spend quality time with their loved ones and to reduce the pressure so that they can continue to be valued employees.

Source

Earlier this year, Carers UK released the results of a survey which showed that more than 600 people a day are leaving jobs to care for older and disabled relatives.

It also indicated that one in seven workers are now juggling their paid job with caring, marking a “dramatic” rise in recent years.

Helen Walker, chief executive of Carers UK, said the need to help workers who also care for loved ones was a moral requirement, as well as financial.

She said: “Better workplace support for people juggling paid work with caring for a loved one is becoming an increasingly important issue, with a growing need for employers to improve flexibility and, with an ageing population, support people to keep working for longer, contributing to better productivity.

Ms Walker said: “Adequate care and support services are also a key condition for many people’s employment so it’s more important than ever that the Government’s forthcoming social care proposals deliver the high quality and affordable care services we need now and in the future.”

It indicated:

• The number of those juggling work and care is around 4.87 million, compared to 3 million in the Census 2011.
• The number of people giving up work to care has increased from 2.3 million in 2013 to 2.6 million – nearly a 12% increase.
• The number of adults reducing working hours in order to care has fallen from nearly 3 million in 2016 to just over 2 million – a fall of a third.
• Those saying that unpaid caring had impacted negatively on their paid work has dropped from 10% in 2013 to 7%, suggesting that measures to support carers have been working for some in the workplace.
• Women were more likely to say caring had a negative impact on their work (9%).
• Paid care leave of at least five days per year could save the UK economy around £3.5 billion a year.