Employers for Carers (EfC), a membership forum set up to champion and promote effective workplace support for staff with caring responsibilities, turns 15 years old today.
Set up and supported by Carers UK, EfC has evolved from a pioneering group of employers committed to creating inclusive workplaces for unpaid carers. It now has over 230 member organisations across the public, private and voluntary sectors, offering advice and support to over 2.7 million employees.
In a second milestone celebration, Carers UK is also celebrating five years of Carer Confident, the Employers for Carers employer benchmarking scheme. This pioneering scheme, launched after a two-year pilot with businesses across a range of sectors, recognises and accredits UK employers who have built carer friendly and inclusive workplaces.
Over the last five years, EfC and the Carer Confident scheme have gone from strength to strength, with more than 80 employers achieving Carer Confident status, including Centrica, Phoenix Group, Aviva, British Telecom, TSB, HSBC and Nationwide, the Crown Prosecution Service, the Intellectual Property Office, the Department for Work and Pensions and more.
Over 600 people a day give up work to care after experiencing a lack of flexibility and support, and the consequences of this can be long lasting – not only for unpaid carers who are impacted by lost income and missed career opportunities, but for UK businesses who lose an estimated £8.2 billion every year due to staff absence, turnover and stress.
EfC’s 15th anniversary and five years of the Carer Confident scheme will be marked by a summer reception event for members in central London on Thursday 11th July 2024.
Helen Walker, Chief Executive of Carers UK, said:
“The situation for working carers is critical. 40% of carers – many of them caring for more than 50 hours a week – give up work to care, and 22% feel that they have no choice but to reduce their working hours because of their caring role.
“We’re proud of the success of Employers for Carers and our Carer Confident Scheme, both of which are inspiring employers to make tangible changes for carers. This not only helps unpaid carers to stay in work, but also makes good business sense. I want to congratulate every one of our EfC members on their efforts to recognise, value and support employees juggling work and care.
“With an ageing population, meaning that many more people in work will take on caring responsibilities in the future, it’s vital that employers grasp the seriousness of this issue and realise the many benefits providing proper support can bring, helping to retain skilled employees and save on recruitment costs.”
Founder member of Employers for Carers when she was Director of People and Policy at BT, Caroline Waters OBE, and who is former Deputy Chair of the Equality and Human Rights Commission said:
“Fifteen years ago, Employers for Carers was launched to recognise and support unpaid carers and the vital role they play in the UK’s economy and in every corner of our society. Unpaid carers can only do this if they get the support they need in the workplace and in good quality, local services. Over the last 15 years Employers for Carers has become a beacon for employers and carers across the UK 's workforce. What an incredible achievement! More than 230 enlightened and informed employers enabling thousands of carers to not just juggle work and care but aspire to a fulfilling life and career.
“There’s the potential for many more employers to go further and do more for unpaid carers in their workforce. As we’ve seen within employers and businesses, this sits at the heart of strong economic growth as well as improving individuals’ and families’ lives.”
Founder member of Employers for Carers when he was Managing Director at British Gas, Ian Peters, currently Non-Executive Chairman at the UK Health Security Agency said:
“When I was Managing Director at British Gas, we took forward some groundbreaking work and gathered groundbreaking evidence to show how supporting unpaid carers within your workforce could make a real difference not just to our employees, but to the efficiency of the business and the bottom line.
“It was my privilege to chair Employers for Carers for six years, building on the pioneering foundations to help grow the membership, boost the generation and spread of best employer policy and practice, and be inspired by the collaboration between members and their staff networks to improve the carer experience. We launched Carer Confident at the end of this period and it is terrific to see EfC and the benchmark continue to thrive and its impact expand.”
Angela Gibson, Senior Manager, Colleague Experience and Employment Policy at TSB, said:
"We are proud to support Carers UK and their tireless work to ensure employers support colleagues who are carers – and we commend the Employers for Carers scheme. This is critical to helping carers live balanced lives, stay in work, and contribute to the growth of the UK economy.
"We’re proud to be recognised as a Carer Confident Ambassador. Having offered paid carers leave to TSB colleagues for over four years, we have seen first-hand, the benefit to our colleagues and our business, and we would encourage all employers to introduce this vital support."