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Carers and employment

Caring for someone when you are also working is a challenge.

If you are caring for someone while employed this information may help.

The Flexible Working Act 2023

If you need to combine work with your caring responsibilities, you could request a flexible working arrangement to help.

Both employers and employees are recognising the benefits of flexible working and many carers and employers have benefited from the changes, as employers have also avoided losing valued staff and experience.  

Examples of flexible working include:

  • flexible starting and finishing hours
  • working from home or remote working
  • hybrid working
  • job sharing
  • part-time working
  • term-time working
  • staggered hours
  • compressed hours
  • mealtime flex
  • annualised hours

How do I request flexible working?

From 6 April 2024, you have the right to request flexible working from the first day of your job.

  • This could cover changes to your working hours, your times of work, or your place of work. 
  • You will also be able to ask your employer for changes twice a year rather than once a year.
  • You will no longer have to make a case about the impact this will have on your employer.
  • Your employer will have to consult you if they don’t think they can make the changes you need. 

It might be worth thinking about whether a trial period might help. This gives both you and your employer an opportunity to test out the suggested working pattern to see what impact it has on both you and the organisation. 

It is a good idea to discuss your thoughts first with your manager. Then the request for flexible working must be made in writing and include: 

  • the date of the request
  • an outline of the working pattern you would like
  • the date on which you would like the proposed change to start
  • a statement that it is a flexible working request
  • whether you have made any previous requests, and if so the date of those requests. 

For more information, see the Carers UK website[external link]

The Carer’s Leave Act 2023

  • Employees are entitled to one week’s unpaid leave per year if providing or arranging care for someone with a long-term care need. 
  • This leave can be taken flexibly (in half or full days) for planned and foreseen caring commitments.  
  • It is available from the first day of employment. 
  • It provides the same employment protections to employees as other forms of family-related leave, including protection from dismissal.  

For more information see the Carer's Leave Act 2023 [external link]

Employers for Carers (EfC)

Caring is everyone’s business - each of us faces a 50/50 chance of becoming a carer by the age of 50 and 90% of working carers are 30+.

A key challenge for employers is that carers are often hidden in plain sight and not comfortable or confident talking about their caring responsibilities at work.

Most people's lives will include at least one episode of caring and recent research from Carers UK has estimated that one in seven people in the workplace in the UK are juggling work and care.

Research has shown that, if unsupported, caring can have a negative impact on people’s careers.

Each year over 250,000 people give up work to care - the equivalent of 600 resignations per day.

The loss of their skills, talent and productivity creates significant costs for employers.

For those who remain at work, caring without support can result in poorer mental health, higher risk of burnout and financial worries.  

Businesses which identify and support working carers benefit from greater staff engagement, improved retention and increased productivity.

For more information, visit the Employers for Carers website [external link].

Small and medium-sized enterprises

Darlington businesses with under 250 employees can access free EfC membership.

This gives businesses and their employees full access to the EfC website.

The site includes information for staff to support them in their caring role.

Managers can access the information they need to support their staff who are carers.

To access the website, contact the Carers in Employment Coordinator.

Darlington Carers Support

Darlington Carers Support offers support to employers to enable them to become a Carer Friendly Employer.

For more information visit the Carers Support training webpage

Support from Job Centre Plus

If you are not currently working but would like to be, Jobcentre Plus can help you to get back to work.

For more information, contact Darlington Jobcentre Plus on 0845 604 3719.

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