Employers don't have working carers' policy


Employers are being urged to put processes in place to assist working carers. National charity Carers UK states that three in five people will, at some point in their lives, have to care for a friend or family member.


However, research found almost two-fifths (38%) of employers do not have a policy in place to support working carers, or any plans to develop one. And only one-third (34%) have either a formal or informal policy to support working carers.


The report, Creating an enabling future for carers in the workplace, from the CIPD professional body and Westfield Health also found that, of the organisations that do support working carers, almost half (45%) think the steps they have taken have made a positive difference to their organisation’s culture.


A worrying finding was that just 13% of organisations offer line manager training to support working carers.


www.cipd.co.uk/research/creating-enabling-future-carers-workplace.aspx