“Everybody during their working life will end up being a carer at some point,” predicts Peter Atfield, HR director at CLIC Sargent, a leading children’s cancer charity. “Employers have a job to do: helping with what can be an extreme situation.”

Managing employees with caring responsibilities has become a concern for all employers since the Work and Families Act became law in April. It states that anyone has the right to request flexible working if they care for a spouse, partner, relative or somebody who lives at their address.

Research by Carers UK reports that more than 3 million people in the UK meet this definition – one in seven of the workforce. And the ageing population means this number could treble within the next 30 years, the charity has estimated.

Those figures may explain why CLIC Sargent has updated its own carer policies. The charity is now campaigning for employers to use its policies as a template and to meet what it calls a “gold standard”. “If we say ‘this is what employers should be doing’, we need to reflect that in our own policies,” says Atfield.

CLIC Sargent certainly walks the walk. The charity matches an employee’s annual leave entitlement with “paid planned carers’ leave”, permitting time off for crucial commitments such as hospital appointments, and providing transport.

“There’s potential for 54 days’ leave. That is enough to relieve some of the pressure and is of huge benefit to a carer,” says Atfield. “And if you give flexibility to an individual who needs it, they will give a lot in return.”

CLIC Sargent also offers career breaks for carers, and where the break is for one year or less, the post is kept open. These policies go far beyond UK law requirements, and Atfield suggests that it is HR’s place to create such high standards.

“HR can develop a working culture so that line managers recognise being flexible benefits the business,” Atfield says.

Another employer that has taken up the cause of carers is the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS), which offers five days’ paid carers leave for those with responsibility for dependants (see also panel below).

Sarah Nunn, work-life balance adviser at the MPS, says that the key to managing staff with caring commitments is promoting understanding between managers and staff. “Our policies encourage employees to be more open with line managers about being a carer,” Nunn says. “Some do a full day’s work and then go home to start another day’s work. More understanding managers has lifted the burden for them.”

Nunn says the five days make “a huge difference” to employees, who no longer need to use so much annual leave for caring duties. But how practical would it be for the MPS to change its paid carers’ leave from five days to CLIC Sargent’s practice of matching annual leave?

“As a public body, I’m not sure we could justify that,” Nunn says. “Many people have 30 days’ annual leave a year. We hope our policies allow enough flexibility to go some way towards helping.”

Moreover, many carers see work as a break from caring responsibilities. “It can be light relief compared with what they deal with at home,” she adds.

Nunn says the MPS has benefited from going beyond legal requirements with carer policies, through enhanced staff satisfaction with working life. This experience is not uncommon.

A 2007 survey of  employment trends – by the CBI and the recruitment company Pertemps – found 74 per cent of employers saw the right to request flexible working as having a positive impact on employee relations. 

Also experiencing a positive impact is the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), where dependency leave policies are highly regarded among staff.

“Our employer opinion survey shows response rates to flexible working are well ahead globally when compared with other large financial companies,” says Dr Susan Hetrick, global head of employment policy and proposition at RBS.

RBS policy states that dependency leave should be decided case by case. While it does not specify how much paid leave carers can take, managers must allow carers “reasonable” time off, which should be “considered seriously and sympathetically”. A benevolent fund is available for employees who need to take unpaid carers’ leave. This can be applied for through the company’s intranet.

Hetrick says these policies play a fundamental role in recruiting and retaining talent, and urges HR practitioners to ensure this continues. “It’s down to good communication, ensuring employees and managers are aware of the policies and ensuring they are managed properly and responsibly.”

The RBS policy is nearer the approach favoured by the government, which considers flexible working the best solution for carers in employment.

“Unlike paid carers’ leave, flexible working arrangements offer a longer-term solution to balancing work and family responsibilities,” says a spokesman for the Department for Business, Employment and Regulatory Reform. “If you have paid carers’ leave, what happens when the allocation runs out?”

The new legislation was intended to drive a wider cultural change, and so far it seems to be working. The CBI/Pertemps employment trends survey found employers granted 93 per cent of flexible working requests from carers. New research by Carers UK and Leeds university shows that almost half of the working carers surveyed – 812 out of 2,000 – think their employer is “care-friendly”.

This culture is best developed by constant communication, says CIPD organisation and resourcing adviser Rebecca Clake. “We shouldn’t get too hung up on the formal side,” she says. “It comes down to a good relationship with employees, and regular conversations about how they are coping. It’s not thinking about it as a policy; it’s making it live in your organisation.”

CLIC Sargent’s recent survey showed that 42 per cent of families caring for a child with cancer felt their employer could have done more. So it seems there is still a way to go. But Atfield remains positive. “A lot of employers are on board, and that shouldn’t be underestimated.”

• See “Making good time”, p40

• To see the CIPD’s factsheet on flexible working go to www.cipd.co.uk/factsheets

High profile among workforce

• The UK workforce has 3 million carers (1.4m men, 1.7m women)

• One in five carers gives up work to care full-time

• About 570,000 people combine work with caring over 20 hours a week

• 50% of employers say they offer flexible working to all employees

• Seven out of 10 carers under 50 give up work to care full-time

The met focuses on carers
When a Metropolitan Police employee suddenly found himself in the role of carer for his wife, it inspired him to set up a carers’ group for colleagues with similar responsibilities. HR now attends the group’s meetings to gain a clearer view of what it can do to help. “When we review a policy, it’s important we go to the carers’ group first and ask them what we need to change,” says work-life balance adviser Sarah Nunn. “We’re not the people using those policies, and it’s really appreciated that we go to those who are and work together.” Attendance also ensures that employees know what is on offer from HR, she adds.