Carers

This page has details on the Government's carers strategy, the key sections in the Agenda for Change terms and conditions, and the business benefits of supporting carers.

The Government's strategy

In June 2008, the Government announced its vision for future care and support of carers in its document titled Carers at the heart of 21st century families and communities: a caring system on your side, a life of your own.

The Government committed £255 million to implementing the strategy in both the short and long term. New commitments included

• £150 million towards planned short breaks for carers
• £38 million towards supporting carers to enter or re-enter the job market
• £6 million towards improving support for young carers
• piloting of annual health checks for carers to help them stay well and training for GPs to recognise and support carers
• a more integrated and personalised support service for carers through: easily accessible information, targeted training for key professionals to support carers and pilots to examine how the NHS can better support carers

Business benefits

Carers UK published a report in 2006 entitled Who Cares Wins: the social and business benefits of supporting working carers. The report followed a study exploring how three different employers created a supportive environment for carers at work

According to the report, the adoption of flexible working practices can potentially save organisations time and money, with some companies reporting savings of over £1 million. The report identifies the headline business benefits of supporting carers including:

• lower staff turnover
• reduced recruitment and training costs
• greater productivity
• lower absenteeism
• higher staff morale
• higher levels of trust in working relationships
• improved company image
• improved recruitment

Agenda for Change

The Agenda for Change terms and conditions of service has a number of sections that cover the employment of carers in sections 30-36 in Part 5. Specifically, in section 33 (Caring for Children and Adults) and section 35 (Balancing Work and Personal Life).

Background

There are 3 million working carers in the UK. Of these, 1.4 million are men and 1.7 million are women. In addition, we have an ageing workforce - which means that more and more employees are likely to take on caring responsibilities in the future.

As the largest employer in the UK, the NHS should have the correct procedures and policies in place to support carers in juggling the responsibilities of caring and paid employment.