Out of Pocket

Based on a Carers UK survey of 3,000 carers this research shows that the average loss in earnings last year by carers who had either to give up their job, reduce their hours or take a more junior position in order to care for sick, frail or disabled relatives or partners, was £11,050.

• Around one in five of the nation’s 4.4 million carers of working age have to give up their employment in order to care.
• Men lose out on an average of £13,681 per annum compared to an average of £10,083 per annum for women.
• Nearly 45 per cent of working age carers say that they would like to work but more than a third (38%) say they cannot work unless they have the right care services.
• A third of carers are in debt and one in ten cannot afford their rent or mortgage.

The main reasons that carers are often forced to give up work or reduce their hours are :

• lack of appropriate support services
  Between 40 and 50 per cent of working carers say that a lack of flexibility and sensitivity in the delivery of services hampers them in obtaining support.  Only 25 per cent say that they have adequate support from formal services for them to be able to combine work and care.
  
• a lack of flexibility at work, or unsupportive colleagues
  More than half those surveyed said that their employers are ‘carer-friendly’ and the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) recently found that employers had accepted 93 per cent of requests – either in full or with an agreed compromise. However, anecdotally, calls to the Carers UK’s helpline indicate that awareness is low among some managers, proving the importance of training and designing policies for carers.
  
• benefit rules which stop carers from working
  The fact that carers can only earn £95 a week to receive the Carer’s Allowance which traps them in low-wage jobs.
  
• a refusal by the person they care for to accept formal care services
  This highlights the need for flexible and appropriate services, including technology solutions such as telecare, which look at the support the family requires as a whole – and possibly a service to help the carer.

Key recommendations include:

• A complete overhaul of the way health and social care services are provided, with a much stronger focus on supporting carers with innovative and forward-thinking policies, including telecare solutions, to help carers remain in or return to work.
  
• Greater investment in social care - improving training, status and pay in the social care workforce, stimulation of the care market and greater resources for support agencies
  
• New legislation to make it illegal to discriminate against carers
  
• A full review of carers’ benefits
  
• A new social contract for carers which makes it clear what the state, employers, families and other services will provide, and what individuals have to contribute.
• The right to request flexible working to all employees – to make it the norm and reduce any stigma
  
• Jobcentre Plus to make carers a priority group
  
• Better information and advice for carers