Wigan and Leigh Carers Centre has been accredited the Carer Confident Level 1 Active award
We are delighted to announce that Wigan and Leigh Carers Centre has been accredited the Carer Confident Level 1 Active award. Thank you Employers for Carers for this recognition of the support we’ve put in place at Wigan and Leigh Carers Centre. We’re very proud of how we have supported employees who are balancing work with caring. We’re also proud to say that at least a third of our workforce are carers.
We encourage businesses and employers to sign up to the Employers For Carers platform – the workplace is often the trigger for someone identifying themselves as a Carer!
A ‘Carer Confident’ employer
‘Carer Confident’ is the Employers for Carers’ benchmarking scheme. The scheme assists employers to build a supportive and inclusive workplace for staff who are (or might become) carers, and to make the most of the talents that carers can bring to the workplace. The scheme also seeks to recognise employers who achieve this, and inspire others to follow suit. Other employers accredited include the Bank of England, Network Rail, Santander UK, Public Health England, Department for Education and HMRC.
About Employers for Carers
Employers for Carers is Carers UK’s membership forum for employers who want to support the people in their workforce who are carers. Its purpose is to:
- Provide practical advice and support for employers seeking to develop carer-friendly policy and practice and retain skilled workers.
- Identify and promote the business benefits of supporting carers in the workplace.
- Influence employment policy and practice to create a culture which supports carers in and into work.
Member organisations of Employers for Carers and their employees get free access to guides and resources specifically designed to help make working and caring easier.
National policy change
In September 2021, the Government announced that working carers will have the right to a week’s unpaid leave and the ability to request flexible working from the moment they start their employment. This is in response to the Government’s consultation on carers’ leave, launched in March 2020, in recognition of the need to better support working carers.
Growing numbers of working carers
Working carers represent a significant proportion of the working population and at the height of the pandemic, Carers UK estimated that over a quarter (26%) of all workers were juggling work and care. It is essential that in order to support carers to stay in paid work there is investment in social care and that affordable and accessible care is available. The overall message from carers is that equality, support and recognition are all connected and high on their agenda. They want to be recognised and valued for what they do, to have the information to be able to care well and safely and make the right decisions for them and their family. Supporting carers in the workplace benefits the UK’s growing numbers of carers and also benefits you as an employer.
Find out how your organisation could do the same
More about the scheme here or email client.services@carersuk.org / call 020 7378 4956.