Recognise carers in the workplace, urges Unite

At the start of UK Carer's Week, Unite is calling for organisations to adopt "Carers' Passports" that document the flexibility and support needed by employees with caring responsibilities It can then be carried into an employee’s future roles or if their line management changes.

A carer is an employee who, outside of the workplace, provides unpaid care for a person who has a disability, illness or who needs support in their life. Around 1 in 5 of all employees (or approx. 5 million people) juggles work with care.

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said, "Although most of us care for someone at some point in our lives, it is also something that we are not prepared for and can come as a shock. It can be difficult to talk about some of these issues which may not have been raised in the workplace before.

"Unite is calling for employers to adopt the Carers' Passport and support their staff in being able to be a carer as well as a valued and productive employee."

The purpose of the Carer Passport is to enable a carer and their manager to hold a supportive conversation and document flexibilities needed to support the carer in balancing care and work.  It is designed to be a living document, to be reviewed regularly and will identify and record any changes in the nature or impact of an employee’s caring responsibilities.  

Unite national officer for women Alison Spencer-Scragg added, "We know that employees that have these responsibilities often feel overwhelmed by needing to balance working with caring. Employers need to show flexibility and understanding when dealing with this and the Carers' Passport is a good way to do this.

"The aim is to minimise the need to re-negotiate these flexibilities every time an employee moves post, moves between roles or departments, or is assigned a new manager."