Employers urged to help carers

Some 2.7m people work and look after elderly parents

Millions of people who look after ailing parents are getting a raw deal from their bosses.

Many companies fail to give staff the flexibility they need to look after older family members, a report by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation has found.

An estimated 2.7m people who work also informally look after an elderly parent or parent-in-law.

Juggling work and care for an older adult can be extremely difficult

Judith Phillips, study author

In its report, the think tank calls for companies to be more understanding and to allow staff with caring commitments to work flexible hours.

Researchers at Keele University examined how staff at a social services department and a NHS trust balanced work and caring for an older family member.

They found that one in 10 employees were caring for an older adult. Two out of three spent at least 10 hours a week on these duties, while many were also looking after children.

The study also found that most employees were unwilling to ask managers for time off to help them deal with the demands of looking after an older relative.

Similarly, many felt that family friendly policies did not apply to them.

Carers said they tended to take holiday if they had any pressing problems at home rather than ask for specific help.

Label

Even where carers could apply for more flexible working, many did not like to because they felt it would label them as being "in need of help".

Judith Phillips, one of the study authors, said the findings highlighted the need for more help to be given to carers.

"Juggling work and care for an older adult can be extremely difficult, especially given that so many carers are married, have demanding jobs and are often trying to balance them with care for children.

"Most of the carers we surveyed were committed to their work which they regarded as important for their own sense of identity.

Carers who looked after older adults were reluctant to ask for help

Judith Phillips
Study author

"But it was also clear that inflexible work schedules and other pressures had contributed to the difficulties for carers in meeting their competing responsibilities."

"We found there was a 'long hours' culture in the organisations we studied.

"There was also discovered a widespread belief among carers that they needed to be 'seen to be coping'.

"This had contributed to a climate where carers who looked after older adults were reluctant to ask for help."

The study concluded that better communication within companies and improved training of managers could help tackle some of the problems.

The authors also backed proposals to ensure workers were legally entitled to seek flexible work if they needed.