This is caring
which is an informal document asking a series of questions about your needs .
The carer group worked through the idea of a carer passport with our HR department and put together a document that ’ s now in place in the whole organisation . The passport itself doesn ’ t give any guarantees that the manager will be understanding , but it starts the conversation about what caring means to that individual . It also asks what kind of support would be right for the carer . I need opportunities to work from home and I need my manager to be receptive to different working patterns when Amber is really poorly . I also need time away from the office to accompany her to medical appointments , which can be quite lengthy . Flexibility and freedom to do what I need to do outside of the office is invaluable .
Recently , the carers ’ group had a conversation with our HR department about how some carers use their holiday days or buy extra holiday days for caring responsibilities . Our employer recognised that wasn ’ t the best way of supporting carers and encouraged us to develop a carer policy , which we did in conjunction with our HR department and with the support of the Employers for Carers team at Carers UK .
Our carer policy allows up to five days of paid leave for caring responsibilities , which can be taken in half days or full days . It ’ s up to the carer to decide how to use it . It can be used for emergency situations , to accompany someone to hospital , if adjustments are being made to the home or even if the carer has had a rough night it could allow them to have rest the following day . There are no conditions to accessing this leave and you don ’ t need to have a carer passport to get it . If what the person is describing sounds like a carer ’ s responsibility the right thing to do is to support that person .
Caring conversations The visibility of carers in our organisation , through the policy , passport and sessions we run for sharing carers ’ stories , has helped other colleagues better understand the role of carers . There ’ s a dialogue here about caring and we ’ re taking progressive steps to make the workplace better for carers . Many managers are desperate to do the right thing even if they have no direct experience of caring . Some of the strongest advocates in our organisation for the carer policy were some of the managers who didn ’ t have their own caring responsibilities . They just thought this was a common sense idea .
Being transparent about my situation with my employers has worked for me , but I know not all employers are as receptive . I ’ d encourage employees in other organisations to get a carers ’ group together . I ’ m very passionate about our group – it ’ s about listening , trying to find solutions , empathy and pragmatism .
The hardest thing about being a working carer is being pulled between so many priorities . There are things I want to achieve at work and there ’ s always that priority at home . That pull is what still makes me
Employers for Carers
Managed by Carers UK , Employers for Carers ( EfC ) helps employers in the UK to support employees with caring responsibilities . This includes training , raising awareness of caring and caring issues , reviewing and ‘ carer proofing ’ policies and helping organisations set up staff carer networks . EfC now has over 100 member organisations across the public , private and voluntary sectors . The Financial Ombudsman Service has been a member of Employers for Carers since 2012 .
8 carersuk . org