Working Carers - whose supporting us this week??

[goose]

Just wanted to put this up for those who may be feeling isolated this week from all the furore around carers cos i dont feel very supported at all ( see my topic in campaign forum).
- yep others too are stuck at work , keeping on eye on the phone for calls from your caree etc etc.
You are not alone - you are worth supporting - work is not a dirty word -

Caring does not always mean being with someone 24/7 and for those of us with a caree with mental health problems sometimes you simply can not be there for your own safety
You can live near to or at some distance and still care for someone,
Why does no organisation seems to want to know- its seem to be all about benefits.
I dont feel its about getting people back to work who have caring responsibilities and should be able to be at home and not be pressurised - but IF you are in work its better from what i have seen to drop hours or organise flexible working than have to give it up. I have been to meetings to try to get support and can't even mention that i work in many for the reaction i get from other carers. Employers dont understand caring so they dont help either- they want to know info when there is a crisis when really what you have to do is to just go! Sometimes you go to work when you have been up all night with caree but how to you say you need a few hours leave to sleep cos you just stopped them doing something stupid...
So for those of you at work sometime this week - great big hug from me!!!

[Guest]

A great deal of work has been done by CUK to improve the rights of working carers but I can understand why you feel that working carers are not a priority, some full-time carers do seem to think that they have a particularly hard time and should have priority over other carers, a belief that as a full-time carer I do not share, I consider myself fortunate in not having to try to juggle a job and caring. I am really sorry that you feel left out, I am sure that you are not alone so from a full-time carer to working carers a big ((((((((hug)))))).

[Caring_Mind]

I too, acknowledge what a hard thing it is to be working full time and still have to worry/care for their caree.
Sending ((((((((hugs))))))) to you all, also x

[Matt Hill]

Hi Goose

I understand that many local carers groups assume carers don't have paid work and so most of the activities for Carers Week will be during work hours. So I can see why you would feel excluded by it.

Carers UK recognises that just over half of all carers (around 3 million people) are also in paid work. We have done a lot of work and campaigning on this issue. Perhaps our biggest achievement was to win carers the right to request flexible working and to ensure that caring and work is firmly on the political agenda.

We have information on our website here
http://www.carersuk.org/Information/Workandcaring
and a couple of downloadable booklets here
http://www.carersuk.org/Information/Wor ... bleworking

There is a video that Carers UK helped produce.
Part 1 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=biyAWqDY ... re=channel
Part 2 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MVyqYdFT ... re=channel

We also run Employers for Carers which is a group for employers who are trying to support their staff better who have caring responsibilities. It includes employers like BT, British Gas, Several councils and NHS trusts, government departments and more.
http://www.employersforcarers.org/

We have also led the way with a huge research programme into the challanges of juggling work and care. This work has helped get the government and business to take the problems more seriously. The research is on our website here
http://www.carersuk.org/Professionals/R ... tandcaring

All the best

Matt

[Maxi]

How often,how alltoo frequently,comes that hollow ring about doing stuff for working carers,I just get VERY,VERY,ANGRY when the myth is put-about that very much,if anything has been DELIVERED for we working carers.SHOW ME some REAL,CREDIBLE and HONEST Progress?.

I just tire of these myths.The ACTUALL,REAL,story is,working carers come below bottom of the list,we are off in some limbo.

I can hear Granny,over in Killkenny saying"Dont Blaggard Me!".Here,Here.

Soryy,great respect to all,and all that,hear what your saying,but,sorry,aint happening.

Working carers are just IGNORED.

How many column inches in the last few Carers UK mags have covered WORKING CARERS issues?.I rest my case.Frankly,theres no real momentum on this one.Working carers are not activists,by and large,by deffinition,when you both WORK and Care,you aint got time to be LOUD.

Then,for all that nice carer-freindly employment stuff,truth is,at work,if your caring role means you cant do your job,unless your a public servent,where,as ever,these carer-freinly rules do work,but are less eveident in the Private Sector,if you cannot do your work,then,you will suffer.So,lets get real here,WITH recession,fear of job-loss,lots of people out there to replace you,a carer,in a private sector job,might-well,and I know quite a few who do,keep quiet about being a caerer.FEAR is a BIG,BIG factor.

I dont bother with this topic as the gap between what carers UK etc claim they are doing for working carers and my realtime sence of the story,differs so very much.

I feel,frankly,carers UK prime focus is on Carers who are full time,recieveing carers allowance,working carers,at best,an after thought.

As this is my view as a working carer,theres no point comming at me with the barrage of how wrong I am.

As I respect others contributions here,Id ask you to respect mine.I find here,often,you bite your tongue.Saves the weary onslaught of responce.But,then,not much point being here at all if you cant be honest.True to yourself,if you have to pick your words,play to the gallery,whats the point?.

I say it as I see it.Feel it every day. If you wqant the bald truth,I fly by the skin of my teeth every day to the point of despair,trying to be all things,to work,pay bills,care,and keep my sanity.I manage a percentage of all that mix.

Its a matter of debate,how much?.Good days,bad days.

So,I feel this topic VERY MUCH,and I would not be honest if I did not say it as I see it.

If Im wrong to be so honest,sorry.It is how I see this.

[Guest]

I think that it is successive Governments and Parliaments rather than carers organisations who are to blame. Whether it is the statutory right to a carers assessment with no commensurate statutory right to have one's needs met or the the right to request flexible hours with no commensurate right to flexible working hours or the derisory £100 earnings limit without even a taper before the entitlement to receive CA is lost or the overlapping benefit rule which denies the majority of carers CA, the government drafts the Bills and Parliament approves them, carers organisations can only lobby, and they do lobby on behalf of all of us, Governments and Parliament legislate.

[Boggle]

Maxi - your view that CUK focuses on carers who don't work is interesting as there are many carers who can't work who feel that the main CUK focus is on working carers - something ain't right somewhere!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Myrtle]

The main cuk focus is on carers - all of us.

But Parsifal is quite right, successive governments have given us the right to request, but not the right to receive those requests. Being seen to be doing, without actually doing, governments seem to be good at this.

[Eun]

I thought the main focus of Carers Uk was Carers Uk?

Eun

[charles47]

If that were the case, Eun, there wouldn't be so many carers using this forum. Including you, I suspect: if you truly feel that way, you wouldn't post here.

Carers are as diverse as the whole population and it is impossible for any organisation to concentrate on such a variety of needs. If you work on one area of need, you automatically have to ignore another, especially given the size of CUK. It's virtually impossible to satisfy everyone. Perhaps anyone.

Carer poverty is a major issue and quite rightly CUK have made CA a priority area because its membership have raised this time and again. But as Matt points out, other work is going on to support working carers too. Trouble is, trying to get the balance right means that everyone can feel short changed. Boggle's comment about "something ain't right somewhere" could be turned on its head: if everyone feels that CUK's priorities lie elsewhere, chances are they've got the balance about right.