A Call for Change: Invest in the Caring Economy
How can you support your Carers in the workplace to create a Caring Economy in Bristol that we can be proud of?
Our Manifesto for Employers
We ask:
- Do you know how many of your workers are carers – of adults as well as of children?
- What has your organisation done to support these employees
- Where is care on your priority list for the future or your staff and organisation?
- What can you do to support a caring economy across your organisation?
- How will you ensure this commitment becomes a reality?
To find out more about how you can support our campaign, please contact Carolyn Magson, Caring Alliance Manager, caringalliance@bristolwomensvoice.org.uk.
A CALL FOR CHANGE – INVEST IN THE CARING ECONOMY
We will all be a Carer at some stage in our life and we need to value that more.
Caring is everybody’s business.
Yes
A carer is a person of any age who provides unpaid care and support to a family member, friend or neighbour who is disabled, has an illness or long-term condition, or who needs extra help as they grow older.
Yes/No
We need a healthy caring economy because caring cuts across all the pillars of society – education, employment, health, social development, and finance. Caring is fundamental to the infrastructure of our society and the foundation of our communities.
A Caring Economy supports the work and well-being of all those delivering care through provision of flexible work, transport, training and skills.
It rewards those who work in the caring economy rather than so many having to rely on low wages and food banks.
It prevents people with caring responsibilities having to choose between working and caring.
Yes
Yes
We understand running a business can be harder than ever at the moment, but the Caring Economy is not just about being a supportive employer, it’s often potentially cost effective to retain existing staff rather than recruiting
- The average cost of hiring an employee can be between £6000-30000, when you factor in lost productivity, disruption and general recruitment time and costs.
- Unpaid carers who are locked out of the workforce due to their caring responsibilities cost the UK economy up to £47.7 billion a year in lost labour, which equates to 1.7% of the UK’s GDP.
- Locking unpaid family carers out of the workforce costs the UK Treasury an estimated £6 billion annually in lost taxes and extra benefit payments. [1, 2]
- Unpaid Care: Unpaid carers save the government over £162 billion a year by keeping vulnerable relatives out of expensive NHS and social care.
- Supporting them to balance a job and caregiving keeps this critical system from collapsing.
- Employers with strong carer policies (like flexible working hours or paid emergency leave) see massive benefits. For example, Centrica estimated saving £1.8 million per year in reduced unplanned absences and £1.3 million per year in retention savings
WILL YOU SIGN UP TO OUR CARING CAMPAIGN TODAY?
OUR CARING CALL TO ACTION STARTS HERE.
Please sign up to our Manifesto. The data shows that this will be beneficial for your workforce, business and the Bristol Economy and it will provide a more diverse and equitable workforce.
Here are our five main asks for employers, if you can sign up to some of these, you’d be accredited as a Caring Alliance Partner.
Please help us make Bristol a carer friendly city. Women make up 59% of the cities carers, with one in three carers being Disabled themselves. For many working is a lifeline but juggling work and caring without support ends up in burnout, forcing women to make a choice.
Let’s show we care as a city!
We urge employers to:
1. Make employers aware of their statutory rights to 5 days unpaid leave (Carer’s Leave Act 2023) to give or arrange care for a dependant.
2. Include flexible working in all contracts as the rule not the exception to support those with caring responsibilities and childcare needs.
3. Ensure these policies are promoted to all staff and managers are aware and staff are encouraged to make appropriate use of the allowances. 4. Sign up to the Women in Business Charter.
5. Ensure the organisation knows how many carers are in the employee cohort and their experience of accessing rights and entitlement in relation to caring responsibilities.
6. If possible as an incentive for carer include paid time allowances across all contracts e.g. five days that can be taken in addition to statutory sick days and separate to annual leave for caring responsibilities. This should include emergency caring for adults as well as for children and employees should be able to take it in two-hour slots.
There are many ways you can support carers; these are just the start. But we recognise that some businesses have more capacity than others.
Please see our full manifesto for how you fully support our caring economy, both now and for our future carers.
You do not have to tick all the boxes to sign our manifesto, as we are perfectly aware that some requests will not be applicable. However, Bristol Women’s Voice is committed to work with employers and to support them to become more carer friendly in the future. Did you know that we offer a wide range of training courses and consultancy opportunities?
To find out more about how you can support our campaign, please contact Carolyn Magson, Caring Alliance Manager, caringalliance@bristolwomensvoice.org.uk
