A recent survey from Carers UK has revealed that two in three employers would like more support for care services in order to keep their staff at work – with the majority of employers agreeing that the current shortage of care services is affecting the health and productivity of staff.
Regarding the research findings, Helen Walker, chief executive of Carers UK, said: “When you’re caring for someone and you can’t get the support you need from social care services, it can become impossible to stay in work. Our survey shows that businesses are now having to manage the fallout of this increasingly common dilemma for staff who are juggling work and care for a relative.
“Just as childcare used to be a key issue stopping women from continuing to work, now caring is holding back thousands of people from enjoying a fulfilling career and retaining an income.”
The study also found that two thirds of employers survey agreed that more social care services should be able to offer assistance for staff with unpaid caring responsibilities in order to keep their jobs at the same time.
2019 study
In 2019, Carers UK conducted another survey and found that almost 500,00 people quit their jobs in order to care for a relative in the past two years. With COVID-19 putting even more strain on carers and social care services, it’s likely that this number has only risen in 2020.
This is supported by the findings that 72 percent of employers surveyed for this newest research believe that the number of people providing unpaid care for an ageing population is putting pressure on employees.
Help for carers
Over lockdown, there was a rising demand for more support from the government to give more provisions for social care services and carers.
According to research, 4.5 million people in the UK were forced to become unpaid carers in the UK due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and this is clearly affecting employers as well.
We provide insurance so you can live life confidently – if you are a carer, it’s essential that you have carers insurance to cover you should you need time off or an unexpected incident occur during your work.
Equally, if you or a family member is receiving direct payments in order to pay for care support, having direct payments carer insurance is a legal requirement and often more affordable than arranging care and insurance through a third-party agency. Find out more about that here.