Latest news with #CarersScotland
Scotsman
05-05-2025
- Health
- Scotsman
Care for employees who care for others
Don't risk losing great staff members by being inflexible Sign up to our Scotsman Money newsletter, covering all you need to know to help manage your money. Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... The Carer's Leave Act came into force a year ago. I wrote for this publication prior to its introduction, and concluded by asking whether its provisions would be enough. The Act provides for unpaid leave (up to a maximum of one working week per year) for those who have caring responsibilities for family members, or others, with disabilities, long-term health conditions or those who are suffering with the effects of old age. It also requires the employee to give notice in relation to such leave. A February 2025 report by Carers Scotland says there are 627,700 unpaid carers in Scotland, with an estimated 270,000 people managing paid work alongside their caring role. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad In relation to the impact of caring on employment, the report indicates that many carers have had to reduce their hours as a result of their caring role (42%) with around a third (34%) of working age carers saying they had given up work at some point as a result of their caring responsibilities. Many of those who gave up employment said this was because of the stress of their role. Make sure your organisation's policies are up to date, says Blair Duncan With the number of carers likely to increase, partly due to an ageing population, what can employers do to help those individuals in their workforces to ensure good talent is not lost? Firstly, as a minimum, make sure your policies are up to date and that you offer the correct statutory entitlements. The Carers Scotland report suggests some employees aren't aware of carer's leave. In addition, beyond responses you might expect - an understanding manager and the right to request flexible working (which is now a 'day one right') - the report also outlines suggestions from respondents which could assist. Those included paid carer's leave (70%) or a carer's passport (81%). The suggestion of paid carer's leave is not surprising as the need to take unpaid leave from work is not likely to be attractive, particularly for those in lower paid jobs. Having a carer's passport allows the employee to set out for the employer the demands of their caring role and what support they feel would be required from a manager. It's a way to start the conversation. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad That can be important so employers appreciate the extent of the employee's role. Some carers may only provide care for a few hours a week, helping with shopping, errands or other appointments. For others, it could include undertaking a large amount of administration, or at the most demanding, personal care including washing, dressing and feeding. Being clear about that and what support the employee might need is a good first step. The word "flexibility' comes up a lot and while I know uncertainty and frequent requests for change can be difficult for employers (and there can be genuine occupational reasons why requests won't work), don't dismiss those requests out of hand. Could they work, perhaps even with a small tweak? Consider that, from a risk point of view, if your response is deficient - such as by ignoring requests for leave, inadequately addressing flexible working requests or not providing adequate support - your organisation could expose itself to liability for discrimination, most likely disability discrimination by association. By supporting carers in your workforce, you will help retain brilliant people in your organisation and allow carers to thrive beyond their caring role.
The Herald Scotland
29-04-2025
- Business
- The Herald Scotland
Disabled children 'plunged into poverty by damaging UK cuts'
Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced stricter tests for Personal Independent Payment (PIP), making it harder to qualify for the daily living component, which starts at £72.65 per week. Incapacity benefits issued under Universal Credit will be halved to £50 for new claimants, while the existing rate will be frozen in cash terms at £97 per week. While the Scottish Government is currently in the process of replacing PIP with Adult Disability Payment, UK welfare cuts would mean Scotland receives a smaller amount from the UK Government in Barnett consequentials. Under 22's will also be blocked from claiming the incapacity benefit top up to Universal Credit once the reforms are introduced. Fiona Collie, head of public affairs at Carers Scotland, said carers with a disabled child were significantly more likely to be in poverty. A third (33%) were struggling to make ends meet - five percentage points higher than all of carer groups, while 24% were in debt and 9% were in housing arrears. Ms Collie told The Herald: 'The impact to changes to disability benefits, changes to Universal Credit and the carer element in particular is likely to have a disproportionate impact on families with a child. 'No child should be hungry. It's time for action to eradicate child poverty' Wake up call: Extreme child poverty in Scotland is now higher than 1990s I'm a single dad and I've been forced to rely on food banks – it's traumatising 'The impacts on households with children are going to be very significant. 'We're deeply worried about these cuts. It's the group that can least afford it, households with a disability and particularly those households with children. 'From our perspective, unpaid carers provide £15.9 billion of care every year in Scotland and actually any move to remove support from these households is deeply damaging.' In Scotland, an estimated 90,000 children under the age of 18 were identified as disabled in 2023, while 17% of children had a long-term condition or illness. Official UK government analysis suggests that families impacted by the welfare reforms will lose an average of £1,720 each year. READ MORE: Nappies, food and clothes for newborn babies: Inside Scotland's busiest food banks Rebecca McCurdy: I was ashamed of growing up poor – but I am proud of it now Scotland's social justice secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville described the cuts as "irresponsible and damaging," amid estimations a further 50,000 children could be plunged into poverty. One parent, who has been supported by Action for Children in Scotland, was forced to give up her job in a dental practice to care for her ill daughter. She said: "We went from a decent wage to Universal Credit which is basically £1,600 for the month. "A third of that you're paying on rent and council tax and the rest of it you're buying shopping for four people and electricity so you can't do anything else. 'We'd try to go to shops where you can go to self-scan or using your phone. You're putting the prices in the calculator, so you know the cost at the checkout - you know your budget and don't go above that.' Carers Scotland also warned there is dismay at unpaid carers being labelled "economically inactive" despite estimations they save the social care sector around £15.9bn per year. Ms Collie said: "Unpaid carers contribute to our society and the idea that paid work is the only way that you can contribute to society, that it's the thing that places value on you, it actually is a challenge for people to hear some of the narrative that they're almost undeserving of support". A UK Government spokesperson said: 'We have set out a sweeping package of reforms to health and disability benefits that genuinely supports people back into work, while putting the welfare system on a more sustainable footing so that the safety net is always there to protect those who need it most. 'We're boosting the main rate of Universal Credit permanently above inflation, while our £1bn employment support package will unlock work and help move people out of poverty as part of our Plan for Change, alongside increasing the Living Wage, and introducing a Fair Repayment Rate to help more than a million low-income households on Universal Credit.'
