The UK has many individuals who are carers, some caring for children, some for dependants with ill health, and some caring for older dependants.

Did you know that the UK has 1.4 million “Sandwich Carers” – those who are caring for dependent children as well as adult relatives?

With an aging demographic, statistically many more individuals are likely to become carers in the future.

 

Sandwich Carers

Of the 1.4 million sandwich carers, recent statistics show that –

61% are female

51% are aged 45 to 64 years

26% provide care for 20+ hours per week

 

What affect does caring have on employment?

Given these statistics, it is very likely that you will have employees within your own organisations or are caring for either younger, unwell, or older dependents (or potentially more than one category).

53% of sandwich carers report that they are unable to work at all, or as much, as they would like

16% find it difficult to manage financially

19% of all sandwich carers are currently diagnosed with depression

You may see physical symptoms in team members who are caring, including depression, low mood, fatigue, absence or lateness, or productivity. For some staff, their symptoms may not be visible, and they may be struggling to cope with the demands of care and work, which inevitably has an impact on other aspects of their lives.

 

How can organisations support their employees?

There are various measures you can take to support your entire workforces, including those with caring responsibilities –

  • Support, including one to ones, appraisals, return to work interviews, informal catch ups
  • Access to management or HR support – ensure staff know who they can talk to if they are struggling
  • Accessible policies – make sure staff are aware of, or can find, their rights to things like Carers Leave, Dependents Leave, Flexible Working Policies, or Family Leave
  • Managers training – make sure managers and leaders are confident to provide support, and aware of where they can signpost their teams to for further, specialist, support
  • Flexible approaches – consider any flexibility that may be relevant to individual’s jobs, for example hybrid working, working from home, flexible hours, permission to have personal phones on in case of emergency calls

 

Support

If you need any support reviewing or implementing policies within your own workplaces, or training your managers, please contact us on team@hrprime.co.uk to discuss how we can help.