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Video Content
Wait. What is WordPress?
How long do I get support?
Do I need to renew my license?
Requesting a carer’s assessment
Claiming Carer’s Allowance may be possible if you are regularly looking after someone for at least 35 hours a week.
Watch the British Sign Language version
How do I fill in that benefits form?
Applying for financial support can be daunting, but there are ways to make it easier.
Watch our three-minute video for some useful tips on filling in forms.
Watch the British Sign Language version
Could I claim Carer’s Allowance
Claiming Carer’s Allowance may be possible if you are regularly looking after someone for at least 35 hours a week.
Watch the British Sign Language version
Simple forms of practical help like permission (and space) to make private calls, and car parking close to the workplace to help make getting into and out of work quicker and easier, are often valued by carers.
“I have access to a telephone, so if I leave Mum in the morning and she is depressed or unwell, I can call her through the day. I can go somewhere private and have a chat with her without having to worry about what’s going to happen ‘til I get home.”
- Smaller businesses also find that just being open and flexible can go a long way to support carers and multi-skilling, good communication and team working provide effective cover if carers have unexpected emergencies.
“I’m a believer in give and take. If you are flexible with your employees, they’ll be flexible with you, for example, when extra cover is needed.” Owner, SME
Employee benefits provided by some employers include disability or healthcare insurance and childcare or care vouchers (and some larger employers now also offer access to a specialist care search provider).
- A health and wellbeing scheme or Employee Assistance Programme with advice and information on sustaining employees’ own physical and emotional wellbeing and how to get help with their caring role.
- Providing visible information for carers all in one place, eg within: an overall carers policy/guidance; relevant workplace policies (eg leave, flexible working, health and wellbeing); the staff handbook and on the staff intranet.
- Helping carers to self-identify and access support, eg through a workplace Carers Passport or enabling carers to register on an online HR system.
- Championing and communicating carer support eg through an in-house carer champion(s), senior sponsor, staff carers network/support group.
- Connecting carers through a staff carers network to enable them to support each other; evidence suggests that this is often much valued by carers in the workplace.
- Signposting to practical information and help with caring: Top of the list of carers’ needs is often information and advice on how to get practical help with caring. Some employers offer in-house support to carers including signposting them to information about services to support the person they look after.
External sources of support for carers
Employers can play a valuable role in signposting carers in their workforce to external sources of support. There are some external organisations that provide practical support, advice and information for carers including:
- Carers UK offers help and advice for carers including a section for working carers
- ACAS gives employees and employers impartial advice on workplace rights, rules and best practice
- Citizens Advice offers free, confidential and independence advice to individuals on a wide range of issues
- Gov.uk provides government information for carers
- The NHS website includes a section on Help for carers.
Employers can play an important role in signposting carers to these sources of help. For example, some employers provide a basic information pack for their employees with caring responsibilities about how and where to get help. Other employers provide such information for all their new employees. This practice is helpful as it means that the employer is not just relying on their employees to identify themselves as carers and ask for help, but that they are reaching all potential carers in their workforce.
Workplace support checklist and tips:
Many support options will be dependent on employee needs, and it is good practice to consult carers in your workplace when you develop your policies/provisions to see which will be most beneficial to them. However, here is a short checklist of options and tips.
Options
- Emergency leave and carer’s leave (for planned caring) beyond the statutory minimum (ie paid and longer periods of unpaid)
- Carer awareness training for line managers
- Carers network/support group
- Carer passport/wellbeing passport
- Health and wellbeing/Employee Assistance Programmes which help carers find and access practical support for the person they care for
- Simple practical support eg permission to make private calls and a parking space close to the workplace
Tips
- Ensure that your health and wellbeing scheme/employee assistance programme includes, or signposts to, information on caring and support for carers.
- Include information on caring/support for carers within your other diversity and inclusion strands and networks, if you have them eg family, disability, mental health, wellbeing etc
- Signpost to practical information and advice on caring, eg from in-house champions, staff networking groups and external organisations like Carers UK.
- If your organisation does not have a carer network/support group, consider offering to set one up, if there is interest, to help connect and support carers in your workplace.
- Include information about support available for carers through different workplace channels, eg staff intranet, handbooks, posters, bulletins, health and wellbeing comms.
- Use relevant awareness raising opportunities such as Carers Week, Carers Rights Day and Mental Health Awareness Week to highlight caring issues and support
