We are excited to announce the Carers UK Awards, a celebration of remarkable individuals and organisations across the UK who make life better for unpaid carers.
Every day, millions of people dedicate their time and energy to caring for friends and family, often without recognition or support. These awards honour those who go above and beyond, whether through caring, campaigning, volunteering, or workplace initiatives to create a more inclusive and supportive society for carers.
Together, let's shine a light on the incredible work being done to support unpaid carers across the UK.
Awards and criteria
There are 10 award categories covering both community and workplaces. You can find more information about each of the awards, below.
Community awards
The Individual Campaigner award will be presented to a current carer, former carer, or carer ally, who in the last 12 months has campaigned to improve the lives of carers.
For example, this could be campaigning for a specific local service that benefits carers or a local or national campaign influencing policy change. This individual continuously advocates for and on behalf of carers, shining a spotlight on the challenges that carers face and increasing recognition of carers.
The Community Volunteer award will be presented to a current carer, former carer or carer ally, who through their volunteering activities in the last 12 months has used innovative approaches to raise awareness of caring and connect carers with vital support.
This may have involved organising events, sharing their own caring experiences, or providing valuable support to individuals or organisations. Through their achievements, this volunteer will have demonstrated enthusiasm and passion, going above and beyond, and will have had a significant impact in making life better for carers.
The Carer of the Year award will recognise a current carer, who in the last 12 months can demonstrate exceptional dedication in their caring role and the positive impact that this has had.
This carer could be yourself or someone you know, who continues to show dedication, perseverance and compassion whilst caring for others. They may be looking after someone in the same household, caring from a distance, or they may be a working carer. Finally, they carry out a wide range of responsibilities, either emotionally, practically or financially for the person(s) they are caring for.
The Standout Campaign for Carers award is for a specific campaign, in the last 12 months, focusing on carers and that has specifically benefitted carers, for example, increasing the identification or recognition of carers.
Nominations could be submitted from an organisation with an external facing campaign or an employer with a campaign targeted towards their own employees. The campaign can show impact through its innovation in terms of messaging and delivery and can be through any one or a mixture of communication channels.
The Outstanding Carer Service award will be presented to an organisation/provider that delivers a comprehensive service on a local or national level.
The service reaches and supports carers in a wide range of channels and shows innovation in its service delivery for carers. The organisation/provider embeds the lived experience of carers into their service and is a leader in the sector. The service could either be specifically delivered by a provider or all of the services that they deliver and can demonstrate tangible impact.
The Community Group award is for a local group, providing practical and accessible support to their community of carers.
This support can be provided in any way, on a regular (eg monthly) basis, through online sessions or face to face meetups, encouraging peer to peer support and bringing carers together. The group helps to reduce loneliness and isolation for carers and can show the positive impact that they have had on their community through their activities.
Workplace awards
The Workplace Champion award will be presented to an employee who, at any level in their organisation, can show that they have gone above and beyond to raise awareness and tackle stigma of carers and caring issues in their workplace.
This individual will be a current carer, former carer, or carer ally, and they empower employees to identify themselves as carers and to access support and information that is available to them in the workplace and externally. Finally, they can show a significant impact from championing the cause for carers on an organisational level.
The Inspiring Leader award will be presented to a senior leader within an organisation (eg Chief Officer, Director, Head of) who champions carers internally and externally and uses their voice to promote and support carers and caring issues.
The senior leader will be a current carer, a former carer or carer ally and will sponsor one or more carer support practices in their workplace. They can show that they have used their experience and knowledge to influence organisational policy change or to improve workplace carer support.
This award will recognise a Transformational Employer who is an ambassador for carers internally and embeds the lived experience of carers in everything that they do.
Externally, the employer shares best practice and policy to influence wider societal change. They have a clear carers strategy which includes tailored policies and practices benefitting carers. They can provide evidence of capturing carer data and measuring impact of the support practices in place and have made a clear impact on carers in their workplace.
This award will recognise an Exceptional Carers Network that embeds the lived experience of carers into their activity and strategy and has a clear focus and objective.
The network has regular (eg monthly), varied activities to engage carers and provide peer to peer support. The organisation can show an evolution of the carers network and has a senior sponsor or champion in place to promote and support the network in its objectives.
You can read about the nomination process and other FAQ’s on the entry guidelines page.
Booking tables for the Carers UK Awards
Places are available for the awards ceremony of the year, taking place on 16 October in central London. Tables of 10 are available for £2,500 + VAT. If you are interested in buying a table or sponsoring a bursary place at the Carers UK Awards, please contact awards@carersuk.org
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