Today’s theme for Carers Week is Work and Employment. In the video below our Account Manager Will More talks about why it’s important for us to strive towards equality in the workplace for carers, and how employers can get involved during Carers Week.
Video transcript:
Hi, I’m Will and I work in Employers for Carers at Carers UK.
Why is it important we take action on carer equality in the workplace?
Carers fundamentally suffer from issues with regards to equality, and there's a whole host of different ways that manifests itself. But one of the big ways that we see through our research at Carers UK is that, statistically speaking, we see that working carers are more likely to be stressed. They’re more likely to reduce their working hours. They’re more likely to feel like they can’t balance their work and carer responsibilities. And ultimately, that means often people feel like they have to drop out of the workforce.
How does Employers for Carers help combat the inequalities facing unpaid carers?
What we do at Employers for Carers is really try and give organisations the tools and the knowledge to think about how to best support their people who are carers. [Learn more about Employers for Carers here].
Why would you encourage employers to get involved with Carers Week?
Really for us, Carers Week is the biggest week and the biggest occasion of the year to talk about caring. And for employers, it’s really important to note that a massive proportion of your workplace population is likely to have caring responsibilities. One in seven of all of our colleagues here in the UK are likely to have caring responsibilities, according to our research.
If we don't mark occasions such as Carers Week, that’s a massive missed opportunity. But on the positive side, celebrating times like Carers Week gives you that opportunity as an employer to lean in and showcase that we really recognise our colleagues. And no matter how their different elements of diversity and inclusion manifest themselves, it's really important to know that everyone can bring their true self to work.