Carers rights in employment.

[tinkq]

I just wanted to know how everyone thinks employers view carers rights.

my mum is also a carer and recently quit her job because of how her employer treated her, He has said numerous times "if your a carer, you shouldn't work"
but it wasn't financially possible for her to quit, or something she wanted to do anyway.

she's a very active little woman, constantly on the go, making sure everyone's alright.

having a job was a massive thing for her, she delivered meals to elderly people and loved dropping into these peoples homes and chatting with them, getting to know them and interacting with people who generally didn't see people very often as they lived alone and families we're busy.

Does anyone have similar experiences where employers didn't care about their rights as a carer? My mums employer laughed about them saying what a joke they were.

[Beck]

I think you'll find that this is unfair dismissal. Even though your mother "left of her own free will", she was made to feel unable to continue working in her current capacity because of the employer's bad attitude and outright discrimination.

She needs to go see her local CAB and tell them what's happened and that she wishes to sue for unfair dismissal on those grounds.

[Maxi]

As ever,legislation which is supposed to giver carers rights,has no meaning if the attitude towards carers is poor in the workplace.

[charles47]

Maxi, that's generally true only if people don't know their rights. And of course they don't.

[Scally]

Some do know their rights, some dont. But the system is set up for us to fail because it is so complicated.

[charles47]

Sorry about the generalisation, Scally. But the truth is most people have no idea what their rights are and unless someone tells them, they carry on without the support they need.

[Maxi]

as a carer,and part-time worker,I just feel,rightly or wrongly,that whatever my rights might be in the workplace,as a carer,if I had to press them,Im too weary to bother if it came to it.Working and being a carer is enough.

[Melly1]

Hi Tinq.
I'm a carer who works and juggling the two is hard, but I'd be committed if I did not work too ... (though would like to work one less day.) I exercised carers rights for flexible working and now work 4 days instead of 5. I followed protocol I had read about on the internet and this meant my boss had to research how to act and follow protocol too and working one less day has really helped. I also use carers rights to ensure I leave meetings that don't finish on time - so that I'm home in time for S etc

Only carers appreciate what it is like to be a carer and legislation is not well known. Knowledge is power however. But as Maxi says, we are often to exhausted to fight in yet another battle.

Your Mum sounded brilliant at her job so everyone is missing out on her boss being so non-understanding. It would be worth her seeking advice either to see if she can get her job back and if she doesn't want that, then unfair dismal ruling or whatever, so that future employers realise she was not at fault.

Melly1

[Maxi]

It is heartening to read that some employers do meet carers needs.

[charles47]

The public sector as a whole has lots of policies supporting carers working for them, and so do some larger private sector companies. The problem is that sometimes those policies don't filter down to the staff concerned via their lower level managers, and they have to do a little digging to find out what their rights are.

Some employers don't know what rights carers have: it's easy to miss legislation on issues like that as a relatively small employer, and too many employers are still unaware of carers' issues, let alone the legislation.

[Daisy]

My husband is having problems at work. Our son was having a huge meltdown at home and I rang him in a panic while he was at work, worried about both mine and my sons safety. He works for a large private school in the maintenance department. He left immediately and drove home to help. He has now had a written warning and during a meeting was told 'we all have problems a home but we shouldnt bring them to work with us'
I am furious but my husband just wants to leave it. Is there a leaflet or something we can send to the personnel department just to remind them he has rights?

[malc]

daisy,why is it always people that you think would understand that you have problems with your case a place that deals with children,i had a similiar problem when the girls were at college doing health and social care and found out mum had got alzheimers,they couldn't understand why they needed time off to get there heads round it all and complained about attitude and focus towards the course,i sorted the teachers out and explained that i'd of expected more from people with a nursing background.i would print a copy of the carers rights at work act out and give to the idiot who sent the warning to you

[Maxi]

In bigger businesses,where there up to speed want to be seen having a good image etc,yes,maybe,carers get a good deal from employers.But small to medium businesses and that instinct you get,that sense of how approachable the boss is,which,at the end of the day,IS the real issue,in my view,for ME,as a carer,if I wanted to discuss how the firm might help my needs,Legislation is fine,just dandy,but if you get that gut feeling your making waves at work,raising carer issues,well,maybe you keep shtum.

[charles47]

My husband is having problems at work. Our son was having a huge meltdown at home and I rang him in a panic while he was at work, worried about both mine and my sons safety. He works for a large private school in the maintenance department. He left immediately and drove home to help. He has now had a written warning and during a meeting was told 'we all have problems a home but we shouldnt bring them to work with us'
I am furious but my husband just wants to leave it. Is there a leaflet or something we can send to the personnel department just to remind them he has rights?

Don't know if there's a leaflet,Daisy, but here is a CUK link on the subject:

http://www.carersuk.org/help-and-advice ... ts-at-work

I'm pretty certain that the written warning could be seen as a step towards unfair dismissal.

ACAS have this page: http://www.acas.org.uk/index.aspx?articleid=3235

A call to their helpline - 08454 474747 - will make sure that if there is any literature on the subject you can get a copy. Mind you, I'd suggest taking a printout of these links to work along with the ACAS phone number and suggesting that the company takes legal advice on whether the warning should be revoked.

[Daisy]

Thank you for the information, its just what we need!