Coaching for Unpaid Carers was recently asked to speak about supporting working carers through coaching at a UK-wide conference about all aspects of Health and Wellbeing at Work. We know that there are at least 2.5 million people combining work with unpaid care, representing 9% of the UK workforce, and many more carers who would like to work if the right support was available. We also know that each year many carers give up work altogether or reduce their working hours to be able to cope. This is such a waste of talent and experience, a huge loss to businesses and the economy – but also to carers themselves for whom working is often an important aspect of having a life of their own alongside caring, not to mention the financial impact. But many carers do not feel safe or comfortable about disclosing their caring role at work and so accessing support is very difficult, even things like the new Carers Leave Act which comes into force in April 2024.
We really enjoyed being a contributor to the event this year as part of the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion conference stream. We had some great conversations with people about all aspects of EDI at work, but specifically about how to make sure that working carers are very much brought into focus under this lens and more widely acknowledged and appreciated by employers. You can see a copy of our presentation here: