17 September 2009 – Employment Support for Carers – Publication of Research Findings

Findings are published today from research on employment support which enables carers to combine work and caring successfully.

Impact of caring

• Long-term caring had the most adverse impact on carers’ physical, emotional and financial health, with dementia caring having the most significant impact.
• Early retirement and long-term sickness appeared to be the strategy most frequently adopted by long-term carers as exit routes from formal employment.
• For some carers, caring imposed restrictions on the type and duration of employment, as well as job mobility and career planning.
• For those not currently in paid work, barriers included finding employment with flexible hours, the perception that employers would not offer positions due to their caring responsibilities and concerns about the impact of their paid work on the well-being of the care recipient.
• Despite the practical difficulties of combining paid work and care, carers largely viewed paid work as a source of financial stability and personal satisfaction.

Effectiveness of existing services

• Carers obtained a wide range of support from formal and informal sources such as the NHS, Social Services, voluntary organisations, family and friends as well as the DWP.
• Workplace support was inconsistent and most carers in the study felt that employers had a predominantly passive approach.
• Informal flexibility at work was highly valued with some carers reporting that they achieved this over a long period of time by establishing trust with their employers. Examples of informal flexibility included ability of the organisation to accommodate shift changes or early or late arrivals according to the fluctuating and unpredictable demands of caring.
• DWP and Jobcentre Plus were generally not viewed as a source of support for carers for several reasons: its environment which was perceived to be unwelcoming; the propensity of advisers to classify carers with the economically inactive during interviews; the lack of knowledge of Jobcentre Plus staff with regards to carer issues; and the inability of the staff to identify jobs that are appropriate in terms of their flexibility.
• In conclusion, the care system was perceived to be fragmented. There was little evidence of interagency collaboration and there was a strong desire for a single port of call for advice and help. The voluntary sector came closest to being a model of the one-stop-shop.
• Following last year’s Carers’ Strategy, the Government plans to introduce a range of initiatives to better support carers into employment and retain those already in employment.

Notes to Editors:

1. Employment Support for Carers is published as part of the DWP Research Summary Series (No 597). A copy of the summary can downloaded from the Department’s website as http://research.dwp.gov.uk/asd/asd5/summ_index_2009_2010.asp
2. The study was conducted by contractors from the University of Kent and Edinburgh including fieldwork, collection of data and analysis. The authors were Sarah Vickerstaff, Wendy Loretto, Alison Milne, Elaine Alden, Jenny Billings, and Phil White.
3. The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) has the lead responsibility for employment relations matters, including flexible working. This research was carried out by DWP, with the input of BIS.

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