Madeleine Starr
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1) In the UK, 1 in 7 employees is also an unpaid carer, with the majority of carers being between the ages of 30-64. 2) Caring for 20 hours or more per week can significantly impact work, especially for women, as carers are twice as likely to suffer from stress as non-carers. 3) While employers can support carers through flexible policies, flexible and affordable external care services are also needed, as only a third of carers feel they have adequate services to enable them to work.
Madeleine Starr
- 1. Madeleine Starr Carers UK Care and Family Services and Business Productivity: work-life balance and absenteeism
- 2. Family vs work We are juggling increasingly complex work and family lives Services that support family life are as much about economic productivity as social cohesion This changes who we see as stakeholders in the development and sustainability of these services – with employers as a key driver
- 3. Working carers in the UK In the UK 1 in 7 employees in any workplace is also an unpaid carer – more in the public sector 90% of carers are aged 30+, the peak age for caring is 45-64, and one in four women and one in five men in their fifties is caring These are people in the prime of their working lives – and 1 in 6 have to give up work to care
- 4. The impact of caring on work Carers pay a heavy penalty if they are not supported: Carers providing heavy end care are 2-3 times more likely to be in poor health Caring for 20 hours a week or more can have a significant impact on work, particularly for women Carers are twice as likely to suffer stress as non-carers All this has an impact on productivity
- 5. Employer vs service support Employers can use flexible working, flexible leave and workplace help such as information and signposting to support carers BUT Flexible working will not succeed without flexible, affordable and reliable external services, and only a third of carers feel they have adequate services to enable them to work
- 6. A condition for employment The UK cannot afford for this to be the impact of caring - how we manage care and caring must be seen as an economic as well as a social issue In the same way as a good system of childcare is seen as a condition for employment, so must a good system of care and support
- 7. Universal and fit for purpose As well as being a social ‘good’, services must be seen as facilitators of labour market participation Family care and support services - and the wider infrastructure including housing, transport and assistive technologies - must be fit for 21st century families and workplaces Caring is everybody’s business – and needs support