Around one in nine people in general employment, one in seven in civil service staff and working one in five NHS staff are juggling work with caring. Two million people have caring responsibilities alongside full-time work, with a further one million caring and working part time.
Employers in England are starting to realise the impact of caring on their own employees and their business. A growing number of employers in all sectors are running Carer Passport schemes as part of a wider package to identify and support carers and ultimately avoid losing valuable employees from their workforce.
What is an Employer Carer Passport scheme?
A Carer Passport in employment is essentially a conversation about the flexibility needed to combine work and care. This conversation involves balancing the needs of the individual with the needs of the business, within existing company policies.
The scheme provides a straightforward way to document flexibility and support so it can be carried into an employee’s future roles, without having to repeat the same conversations.
It can help to create a supportive working culture where staff feel that they have ‘permission’ to talk about their circumstances in a safe environment. It can also help communicate existing workplace support for carers and encourage managers to apply policies more consistently across the organisation.
For more information about carers, including the carer's passport, visit the carer's section of your local council website: