5 th INTERNATIONAL CARERS CONFERENCE 2010, LEEDS NEW FRONTIERS IN CARING, 2010 & BEYOND

1. 5th INTERNATIONAL CARERS CONFERENCE 2010, LEEDS NEW FRONTIERS IN CARING, 2010 & BEYOND Employment Support for Carers Alisoun Milne, Reader in Social Gerontology, with Sarah Vickerstaff, Wendy Loretto, Elaine Alden, Jennie Billings & Phil White, Universities of Kent & Edinburgh E-MAIL: A.J.Milne@kent.ac.uk

2. 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)

3. 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 hours • In surveys many carers say they want to remain in, or return to, work

4. Reasons for economic inactivity: by sex and age, 2008 Source: Social Trends, No 39, 2009 Edition, ONS.

5. 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 & Edinburgh • Sample = 55 carers who were either in work or wanted to return to it • Semi structured qualitative interviews

6. 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’ act • Feel obliged to keep their employer & co-workers happy whilst ensuring that the person they support does not suffer • Finding 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

7. 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

8. The Role & Effectiveness of Support • Carers obtained support from a range of formal & informal sources: the NHS, social services, voluntary agencies, family & friends & DWP • Most 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 person • Very few had received a carers assessment • Fragmented 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

9. ‘… Social Services come in & they say to my wife ‘well we’ll give you an hour a day to give you a wash’, they don’t look at the carer’ - over 50yrs male carer ‘I don’t have a social worker now. As he (the cared for person) does not have personal care, the case was closed. Now I don’t have anyone to fight my corner ‘ - under 50 yrs female carer In the dementia field there are lots of organisations but they’re not well integrated & finding things out is a big job for a busy carer - over 50yrs male carer

10. The Role of Employers • For a minority, employers demonstrated an active approach to supporting employees who were carers • More 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 employer • Many ‘hid’ the fact they were carers for fear of being seen as not ‘pulling their weight’

11. ‘Employers don’t like it. They’re not really interested in what’s going on in your 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

12. ‘When the discussion was going from part-time to full-time they were fully aware of the situation and with the flexi-time system they said ‘yes, take what flexibility you need’ and they would try to find ways to help. So very supportive. Then of course just before Christmas we had this thing come out of the blue banning all flexi-time. So there are times when I have to take time off. I keep my own time record. My supervisor hasn’t asked me for it, but she can see it 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

13. 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 available • Carers felt aggrieved that they were described as ‘unemployed’ • Concerned that JobC+ jobs would not be in any way a match for their skills & knowledge • Much ill feeling about the complexity & inflexibility of welfare benefits rules • One stop shop to include clear advice on benefits!

14. ‘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 you find 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

15. 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 rights • Fragmented level of services’ support for carer and cared for person or to facilitate work • One 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

16. ‘The thing is…carers find themselves in a role. They don’t actually volunteer or apply 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

17. 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, London • Carers 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 Press • Palmer, 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 UK • Yeandle, S., Bennett, C., Buckner, L., Fry, G., and Price C (2007) Managing Caring & Employment, London: Carers UK