State of Caring Report: Juggling paid employment and unpaid care
- Area of Work: Policy and Research
- Type: News Item
- Published: 22nd January 2024
Find out more about Carers Scotland’s recently published report into working carers.
Carers Scotland has published new research on working carers which shows that half of working age carers lose £12,000 of income per year because they provide care.
This new report sets out the struggles that unpaid carers face in juggling paid work and unpaid care and the support that can help them stay in or return to work.
More than half (56%) of carers in paid employment were caring for 35 hours or more each week, which is equivalent to a full-time job, as well as working in paid employment or self-employment – either full or part-time.
The research identified the factors that support unpaid carers to be in paid employment or that impact on the carers leaving employment. These include affordable and accessible replacement social care and a supportive employer.
Should carers not receive the support they need to balance work and care, there can be long-lasting consequences. For example, giving up work to focus on caring can result in carers missing out on thousands of pounds of income. Therefore, it is not surprising that carers are also struggling with the cost of living with one in four (23%) working carers and 28% of all carers reporting that they are struggling to make ends meet.
The report sets out a range of recommendations for the Scottish Government, employers, local councils and health and social care partnerships on developing the environment that supports carers rather than create barriers to their aspirations.
This report publication comes at a similar time to the 10th anniversary of the Carer Positive initiative, which is run by Carers Scotland and funded by the Scottish Government. The initiative supports employers to create carer friendly workplaces. To date, over 260 organisations have achieved one of the three levels of accreditation (engaged, established or exemplary) and nearly 500,000 employees are covered by accredited employers.
Read a full copy of the report in the attached resources below.
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