55thth INTERNATIONAL INTERNATIONAL CARERS CONFERENCE CARERS CONFERENCE

2010, LEEDS 2010, LEEDS NEW FRONTIERS IN NEW FRONTIERS IN

CARING, 2010 & BEYOND CARING, 2010 & BEYOND

Employment Support for Employment Support for Carers Carers

Alisoun Milne, Reader in Social Gerontology, Alisoun Milne, Reader in Social Gerontology, with Sarah Vickerstaff, Wendy Loretto, Elaine with Sarah Vickerstaff, Wendy Loretto, Elaine

Alden, Jennie Billings & Phil White,Alden, Jennie Billings & Phil White,Universities of Kent & EdinburghUniversities of Kent & Edinburgh

E-MAIL: A.J.Milne@kent.ac.uk

Policy Context Increasing policy emphasis on promoting & facilitating employment amongst carers:

Carers policy e.g. 2004 Carers (Equal Opportunities) Act, the Work & Families Act 2006 & ‘Carers Strategies’ Work related policy: DWP has core commitment to ensuring carers remain in/return to work (e.g. via WFI’s)

Also European policy focus on carers & work (Yeandle et al, 2007)

Working Carers 3 million carers combine work & caring: 2 million work FT & 1 million PT Intensive caring is a key trigger to reducing working hours or giving up work Particularly pronounced for women & co resident carers (Palmer et al, 2008)

Reducing working hours has implications for earnings & pension (Yeandle et al, 2006)

1 in 5 carers give up work to care & many more reduce hoursIn surveys many carers say they want to remain in, or return to, work

Reasons for economic inactivity: by sex and age, 2008

Table 4.20

Reasons for economic inactivity: by sex and age, 20081

United Kingdom Percentages

16–24 25–34 35–49 50–59/64All aged

16–59/64Men

Long-term sick or disabled 5 40 62 49 34Looking after family or home 1 9 16 6 6Student 82 27 4 - 33Retired 0 0 1 33 13Other 10 17 12 9 11

All men (=100%) (millions)2 1.2 0.3 0.5 1.3 3.3

WomenLong-term sick or disabled 3 8 24 41 19Looking after family or home 23 72 61 27 45Student 66 10 4 1 22Retired 0 0 - 14 3Other 8 8 8 14 9

All women (=100%) (millions)2 1.3 0.9 1.4 1.1 4.7

2 Includes discouraged workers and those who are temporarily sick.1 Data are at Q2 and are not seasonally adjusted. See Appendix, Part 4: Labour Force Survey.

Source: Labour Force Survey, Office for National Statistics

Source: Social Trends, No 39, 2009 Edition, ONS.

Employment Support for Carers -Feb 08/March 09

Aim: DWP funded project which aimed to:Investigate how caring responsibilities affect people’s decisions about employment Explore the role & efficacy of services for carers/cared for people Assess how the DWP & JobC+ can effectively help claimants with caring responsibilities to remain in, or return to, work Provide evidence to enable the DWP to develop its ‘Strategy for carers’

Study areas , sample & methods: Kent & EdinburghSample = 55 carers who were either in work or wanted to return to it Semi structured qualitative interviews

How do Caring Responsibilities Affect People’s Decisions about

Employment? Caring restricts the nature & amount of paid work a carer can do Although paid work is beneficial it is very stressful combining work & care Many carers described their lives as a ‘juggling’ or ‘balancing’ actFeel obliged to keep their employer & co-workers happy whilst ensuring that the person they support does not sufferFinding an employer willing to accommodate care related responsibilities is a barrier to carers wishing to return to work Formal, & informal, work related flexibilities facilitated the balancing of work & caring

Q: ‘So it puts you off thinking about other jobs?’

A: ‘It does. Yeah. It does because then you’ve got to explain everything, that you’re a carer, you know, home has to come first in a way and... I don’t know how employers would be. Would they not employ me if I needed to take time off with a week’s notice or something? ‘

- under 50, female, working carer

The Role & Effectiveness of Support

Carers obtained support from a range of formal & informal sources: the NHS, social services, voluntary agencies, family & friends & DWPMost agencies did not conceptualise their role as helping the carer to work: much of the contact focused on meeting the needs of the cared for personVery few had received a carers assessmentFragmented nature of ‘care package’: not joined up around needs of both carer & cared for person Need for a single port of call for information Voluntary sector was highly valued as a reliable & trusted source of support & advice

‘‘… … Social Services come in & they say to my wife Social Services come in & they say to my wife ‘well ‘well

we’ll give you an hour a day to give you a wash’, we’ll give you an hour a day to give you a wash’, they they

don’t look at the carer’don’t look at the carer’

- - over 50yrs male over 50yrs male carer carer

‘‘I don’t have a social worker now. As he (the I don’t have a social worker now. As he (the cared for cared for

person) does not have personal care, the case person) does not have personal care, the case was was

closed. Now I don’t have anyone to fight my closed. Now I don’t have anyone to fight my corner ‘ corner ‘

- - under 50 yrs female under 50 yrs female carercarer

In the dementia field there are lots of In the dementia field there are lots of organisations but organisations but

they’re not well integrated & finding things out is they’re not well integrated & finding things out is a big a big

job for a busy carerjob for a busy carer

- - over 50yrs male over 50yrs male carer carer

The Role of Employers For a minority, employers demonstrated an active approach to supporting employees who were carersMore typically there were no specific policies for carers & limited awareness of what carers’ rights or needs may be It was up to the carer to ask for help Most felt it was their private responsibility to manage the demands of caring & to ensure that they made minimal demands on their employerMany ‘hid’ the fact they were carers for fear of being seen as not ‘pulling their weight’

‘Employers don’t like it. They’re not really interested in what’s going on inyour personal life. They don’t care. You’re there to do a job of work and that’s... you can’t blame them, they’re paying your money’

- over 50yr old female carer

‘When the discussion was going from part-time to full-time they were fully aware of the situation andwith the flexi-time system they said ‘yes, take whatflexibility you need’ and they would try to find waysto help. So very supportive. Then of course just before Christmas we had this thing come out of theblue banning all flexi-time. So there are times whenI have to take time off. I keep my own time record.My supervisor hasn’t asked me for it, but she can seeit any time she wants to, and my conscience tries to … I try to make up the time as and when I can. So it is a flexi-time situation, but it definitely took a dent when we had that universal email coming round.’

- over 50yr old female carer

The Role of DWP & Jobcentre Plus

Varied level of contact with DWP/JobC+ JobC+ environment widely viewed as unwelcoming Linked to sense that carers needs were not well understood: at this time no expertise on carers was availableCarers felt aggrieved that they were described as ‘unemployed’Concerned that JobC+ jobs would not be in any way a match for their skills & knowledgeMuch ill feeling about the complexity & inflexibility of welfare benefits rulesOne stop shop to include clear advice on benefits!

‘Awful. Absolutely dreadful. I feel like I need to go in with a bodyguard…. and the security guards look like prison warders!’

- over 50 yrs old female carer

‘…And very rarely in Job centres will youfind part time work or temporary work. Obviously it’s going to be the 30 hour a week stuff. They’re not going to find me a job that actually uses my skills & knowledge…’

- under 50 yrs old female carer

Conclusion Work-life balance agenda gained prominence Recognition of pivotal role work plays in carers lives & health Uneven commitment by employers to recognise carers needs & embed rightsFragmented level of services’ support for carer and cared for person or to facilitate workOne stop shop needed to address carers’ needs in the round As the need for family support of frail elders increases so does the need to extend support for working carers & reduce barriers to participation in employment

‘The thing is…carers find themselves ina role. They don’t actually volunteer orapply for that role, they are suddenly appointed in to it. But they don’t get any training. And they have to keep working and … working and caring rarely mix well …’

- over 50, male carer

Selected References Arskey, H., Kemp, P., Glendinning, C., et al, (2005) Carers Aspirations and decisions around work and retirement, Department of Work and Pensions, Research Report No 290, LondonCarers UK (2007) Real Change not Short Change: time to deliver for carers London: Carers Loretto, W., Vickerstaff, S. and White, P. (eds) (2007) The Future for Older Workers: New Perspectives, Bristol: The Policy PressPalmer, A., Milne, A and Hastie, C (2008) Caring in Kent: Profiles and Patterns, Centre for Health Service Studies, University of Kent Vickerstaff, S., Loretto, W., Milne, A., Alden, E., Billings, J and White, P (2009) Employment Support for Carers, Department for Work & Pensions: London Yeandle, S, Bennett, C, Buckner, L., et al, (2006) Who Cares Wins: social & business benefits of supporting working carers Carers UKYeandle, S., Bennett, C., Buckner, L., Fry, G., and Price C (2007) Managing Caring & Employment, London: Carers UK