Building on Experience

Madeleine StarrCarers UK

Juggling work and care

• Of the UK’s 6 million carers, 58% are women, 42% are men

• Nearly 80% - 4.4 million – are of working age• 3 million – 1 in 7 people in the UK workforce - juggle paid

work with care, 2 million full time, 1 million part time• 400,000 people combine work with 20+ hours of care per

week 200,000 people combine work with 50+ hours of care per week

• Male carers are more likely to work than women - 6 out of 10 work, 90% full time

• Women carers are more likely to work part time

The impact of care on work

• 2.3 million people in the UK move in and out of caring each year

• One in five gives up work to care• There is evidence that even when they remain in

work carers are working below their potential – many have to reduce their working hours – many cannot access workplace development and

training – many face restricted opportunities for promotion and

advancement

Demographic realities

• The UK economy will need an additional 2 million workers in the next 25 years

• UK society will need an additional 3 million carers in the next 25 years

• The UK is facing significant skills gaps, particularly in the knowledge economy

• With a shrinking younger workforce, the economy will need people to work longer, at exactly the time that they are likely to be caring

• The UK economy cannot afford people not to work, or people not to care

Why carers give up work

• Stress of juggling work and care• Unsuitability or inflexibility of care services• Affordability of care services• Inflexibility of workplaces

Barriers to returning

• lack of flexible, appropriate and reliable care services

• loss of confidence• outdated work skills• access to flexible, funded learning and training

opportunities• lack of flexible employment• finding work that pays

ACE National – producing the tools to meet the challenge

• ACE partnerships 2001 - 2007– to raise awareness in the widest possible forum of the

barriers facing carers who want to work and the moral, economic and business case for supporting them

– to develop and test innovation in supporting carers to return to, or remain in, work

– to embed innovation in mainstream services and have the greatest possible impact on local, national and European policy on carers and work

Working in partnership

• Carers UK (lead partner) – lobbying and campaigning organisation

• Operational partnerships – delivery activities– local authorities– Community and voluntary sector organisations– independent service providers

• Research partnerships – research and evaluation• National policy partnerships – key stakeholders• European partnerships – exchange of practice• Employers for Carers – business leaders

ACE 1 on the ground• Develop more effective local individual support and

guidance for carers to support them to think about training and/or work

• Develop a pre-vocational training programme to engage carers and move them towards the labour market, within a recognised accreditation framework

• Deliver carer awareness training for all relevant agencies to support the development of good practice in and into work

• Work with employers to promote flexible employment policies and practices

• Develop local and national partnerships of key stakeholders to influence the development of services and policy

ACE 2 on the ground

• Research the factors that influence why, how and if carers access alternative care services that enable them to work

• Use statutory, private and not-for-profit providers to identify and enhance existing care services, and develop and test new care services which enable carers to work

• Engage carers in planning the development and delivery of care service provision

• Develop a national policy partnership to use the lessons of the research and delivery partnerships to influence long term development and investment in the health and social care sectors, including working to establish a National Care Strategy

Key policy outcomes

• Carers (Equal Opportunities) Act 2004– Duty  on local authorities to inform carers of their right

to a Carers Assessment  – Carers Assessments to take into account a carer’s

access to work, learning or leisure opportunities  – New powers to enlist the help of housing, health,

education and other local authorities in providing support to carers

Key policy outcomes

• Work and Families Act 2006– Right to request flexible working for carers

• Review of National Carers Strategy 2007/8– Government commitment to

• Key measures to support carers into paid work• Key measures to support carers in work and to

promote the benefits to business of recruiting and retaining carers

Key products

• Care to Take a Look– Web-based toolkit for developing policy on carers

• Local Authority Toolkit – Web-based good practice guide with links to

mainstream resources• National Performance Assessment Framework

– Performance Indicators for Local Authorities on their work with carers

Key products

• Learning for Living– pre-vocational training programme for carers to help

them recognise the skills gained through caring and look at ‘next steps’ to training and work

– accredited on the National Qualifications Framework– individualised and flexible online learning

• Carers and their Rights – the Law Relating to Carers– legislation, guidance and case law to support

professionals working with carers

Key products• ACE Resource Pack to support implementation of the

Carers (Equal Opportunities) Act 2004– information– training materials– good practice case studies

• Practice Guide to the Carers (Equal Opportunities) Act– web-based guidance for professionals to support

implementation of the legislation

Key products

• Make Work Work - Employers Resource Pack to support implementation of the Work and Families Act 2006– information– training materials– good practice case studies

• A National Framework for Carers and Employment– guide to legislation, guidance and good practice in

Scotland

Key products Robust evidence base• Research reports:

– We Care – Do You?, 2001– Who Cares Wins - the Social and Business Benefits of

Supporting Carers in the Workplace, 2004– More than a Job: Working Carers – Statistical

Evidence from the 2001 Census, 2004– Caring for Sick or Disabled Children: Parents’

Experiences of Combining Work and Care, 2004• Carers, Employment and Services Report Series

– long term policy impact

Key employers outcome

• Employers for Carers Forum– service providing information, good practice and

training for employers and working carers– interactive website– benchmarking tool and case studies

Summary of activities and outcomes

• Carers, Employment and Services Report Series– Action for Carers and Employment: impact of the ACE

partnership 2002-2007 (Sue Yeandle, University of Leeds, Madeleine Starr, Carers UK)

Building on lessons learned• Sunderland City Council - People into

Employmentwww.sunderland.gov.uk

• Harrogate Carers Resource – Changing Lives• www.carersresource.org

• Action for Carers (Surrey) – Action for Carers and Employmentwww.carersnet.org.uk

• Kirklees Council – ACE Pluswww.kirklees.gov.uk

Equality Act

• Equality Act– Protects people at work associated with a disabled

person and by definition with an older person from discrimination

– Extends that protection to goods and services

The wider debate

• It is not only about employment support– flexible, affordable, good quality care

services matter as much to people who want to work – and to their employers - as good childcare services

– care and support is as much a part of the local infrastructure employers and their employees have a right to expect as transport and utilities

Carers UK

Websites:

www.carersuk.org

www.employersforcarers.org

madeleine.starr@carersuk.org