Business Case

Why is supporting working carers so important now?

Most people’s lives will include at least one episode of caring. Already 1 in 7 in your workforce will be caring for someone who is ill, frail or has a disability. But with the number of carers in the UK set to rise from 6 million to 9 million over the next 30 years, the proportion of carers in your workforce is also likely to increase significantly.

Already 90% of working carers are aged 30 plus – employees in their prime employment years. The peak age for caring is also 45-64 when many employees will have gained valuable skills and experience. With fewer young people entering the job market – and in the current economic climate - there has never been a more important time to focus on the benefits of retaining skilled workers rather than incurring the costs of recruiting and retraining new staff.

What are the business benefits?

Employers need to support working carers. Far from compromising business objectives, research shows that using a flexible working approach achieves impressive business results.

This flexible approach
✓ attracts and retains staff
✓ reduces stress
✓ reduces recruitment and training costs
✓ increases productivity
✓ reduces sick leave
✓ improves service delivery
✓ produces cost savings
✓ improves people management
✓increases staff morale

Organisations that have introduced flexible working and special leave arrangements for carers have judged them a success. Their message is – it makes business sense to care for carers.

Flexibility in action

One of our members (a large utility company with a multi-site operation) calculated that supporting carers brought a benefit of £1 million a year. One of their Directors said “With a caring emergency you are not dealing with an absence, you are potentially dealing with a vacancy if you don’t respond appropriately. The cost of recruiting is incomparable to the cost of 2-3 days’ emergency leave. Retaining carers through support or special leave arrangements represents a saving to the company of about £1 million per year.”

Examples of simple and effective action to enable carers to balance their paid work with their caring responsibilities include:

• Flexible working practices - such as flexi-time, home working, annualised hours, compressed hours, shift swapping, self-rostering, staggered hours, job sharing, term-time working, part time working, flexible holidays and career breaks.
• Emergency leave - can be critically important to carers, who can be called home at short notice when care arrangements break down or the person they care for falls ill.
• Flexible leave arrangements - compassionate leave, planned leave, paid leave for emergency or planned caring.
• Workplace support - in-house networking groups, employee assistance programmes, carer policies.
• Simple adjustments - access to a private telephone or car parking close to the workplace to make access in and out of work quicker and easier.

Evidence shows these flexibilities can reduce staff turnover and absence thereby cutting employment costs. The evidence from employers themselves shows that it is rarely abused and increases loyalty and commitment.

 “The average increase in productivity for flexible workers is 21%, worth at least £5-6 million on the bottom line. Stress-related absence has been reduced by 26% through flexible working alone.”
Director of People Networks, telecoms company