67% of informal carers struggle to juggle work and carer responsibilities 

Almost nine in 10 informal carers receive no support from their employer

Do you juggle work with your caring role? Does your employer know about your circumstances and offer you support? According to research by WEMa Care, almost nine in 10 informal carers do not receive any support from their employer.

18% of UK employees are providing unpaid care for someone close to them, 88% say that they receive no support from their employer.

• The nationally representative survey of over 2,000 employees in the UK also found that only 18% felt their workplace culture enabled them to speak about their caring commitments.
• Almost half (47%) felt that talking openly about care commitments at work would ruin relationships with colleagues, while 49% believed that being an informal carer was a barrier to career progression.
• Despite making up almost a fifth of the workforce, 67% of informal carers surveyed agreed that they struggle to balance work and carer responsibilities.
• To tackle this issue, 49% of informal carers have lied about needing a sick day to fulfil care commitments, while a further 49% have reduced or changed their working hours to fit around their commitments.
• Alternatively, 55% stated that they are searching for new roles that offer greater flexibility and support to better suit their requirements.

Help and Advice for Carers

If you are working as well as caring for a family member or friend, Forward Carers shares advice on how to approach your employer to discuss your caring role. Read our advice here. We also have some work life balance tips that you might find useful to look at, just click here. Alternatively, speak to one of our advisors on 0333 006 9711.

Help and Advice for Employers

Supporting carers in your workforce isn’t just good for your employees: it’s good for your business too. Research shows that supporting staff to effectively juggle their home and work lives allows them to continue in employment, which holds valuable benefits for your business too such as, increased productivity, reduced absence and increased staff retention.

Forward Carers works with businesses and offers the Working for Carers accreditation scheme for employers. Become a Working For Carers member to identify carers within your workforce, demonstrates your commitment to corporate social responsibility and your proactive approach to staff wellbeing, equality and diversity. You can find out more here or if you would like to join our accreditation scheme for employers email: birmingham@workingforcarers.co.uk