Carers in Employment at Chilwell
Today we had another successful Carers in Employment event at the Haveli Restaurant in Chillwell Nottinghamshire.
The event was to help employers understand how to support working Carers within their workforce and understand the impact of their Caring responsibilities.
Scott Knowles from the East Midlands Chamber of Commerce was our key note speaker, Scott explained the benefits to businesses of supporting their staff who are Carers and the valuable skills Carers can bring to their job.
There are more than 3 million people who currently have work and caring responsibilities within the UK. 1 in 9 of a workforce in Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire has unpaid caring responsibilities at any one time. This work results in British businesses’ and the UK economy potentially saving up to £1.3 billion a year (www.gov.uk). It is approximated that giving them support to manage unpaid caring alongside their paid work would benefit them, their families and their employer.
Since launching The Carers in Employment project last year, DCA have now recruited over 100 businesses in Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire, all of which have signed up to their Carers Pledge. The pledge states that each organisation has to nominate a key member of staff (Carers Champion) to attend regular events and training sessions that detail information to help support both the Carer and the employer within their organisation. DCA will review HR policies and procedures to enable employers to offer different levels of support within the workplace. Examples of this could be:
Flexible working hours
Access to a telephone
Car parking space at/near work
Working from home
Unpaid and paid leave
Career breaks
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.
The flexible supportive approach:
Attracts and retains staff
Reduces stress
Reduces recruitment and training costs
Increases resilience and productivity
Reduces sick leave and absenteeism
Improves service delivery
Produces cost savings
Improves people management
Increases staff morale
If you’re organisation would like to be part of the Carers in Employment project and sign up to our pledge then please get in contact on Tel: 01773 833833 or E-mail: employers@derbyshirecarers.co.uk
