Shocking 1,500 workers a day having to quit their jobs to care for loved ones

Shocking 1,500 workers a day having to quit their jobs to care for loved ones New research has shone a spotlight on just how many people are being forced to turn their back on paid jobs to become carers for loved ones, prompting fresh calls for action An estimated 1,500 workers are having to quit their jobs every day to care for a loved one, latest research has revealed. Carers UK says some 1.1million people have given up a paid job in the past two years alone to look after a family member or friend who is older, disabled or seriously ill. The number doing so has rocketed by 150% since when it last conducted a poll on the issue in 2019, just before the Covid crisis struck. The charity says there are 5.8million carers across the UK, who provide unpaid support to a family member, friend or neighbour who is disabled, has an illness or long-term condition, or who needs extra help as they grow older. Many are stretched to the limit, juggling care with work and family life, struggling to make ends meet and often battling with poor health themselves, it says. Emily Holzhausen, director of policy and public affairs at Carers UK, called its latest findings “deeply worrying”. She added: “These figures represent real people who have had to make difficult decisions about their careers, their financial security and their futures due to the pressures of balancing work and care. “The sizeable impact of caring responsibilities on peoples’ working lives should concern us all, because when people are forced to leave work to care employers lose valuable skills and there are wider implications. The economic cost of carers leaving paid work is estimated to be £37billion a year.” Prime Minister Andy Burnham has previously said caring for a loved one without adequate support can and does “break people”. Addressing the issue of social care during a visit to a care home in the summer, Mr Burnham, whose father had Alzheimer’s and whose death was announced on Monday, directly referenced the struggle so many family carers face. He said he could “certainly attest from family experience that it’s too hard for the family carers”, adding: “It can break people if they’re left without the support that they need. In fact, it does break people, and that needs to be recognised.” Carers UK’s survey found one in five workers were having to manage their jobs alongside being an unpaid carer, up from 15% in 2019. While 5% of respondents in 2019 said they had given up their job completely to care for a family member or friend who is older, disabled or seriously ill, this stood at 6% for the latest survey. Of those who have quit their jobs to care, a third (34%) had done so in the previous two years, up from 18% in 2019. Its report says: “The direction of travel is clear: the pressures facing unpaid carers have intensified significantly in recent years, with more people reaching a point where balancing work and care is no longer sustainable.” Carers UK has long called for a statutory right to paid leave for carers, arguing current workplace support and employment rights “do not reflect the realities of caring”. In April 2024, a legal entitlement to unpaid leave for carers came into effect for England, Wales and Scotland. Since then, employees who are carers for a dependant have been entitled to up to a week of unpaid leave every 12 months - equating to just five days for most people. A Government consultation, launched in June, proposed introducing paid carer’s leave, including asking respondents how much it should be, a new “right to return” to work for carers similar to mothers coming back after maternity leave, and new guidance for workers and employers on protections carers have in the workplace. Ms Holzhausen said: “Introducing paid Carer’s Leave would provide time away from work without a loss of income.” 'It was a huge, huge shock going from a simple 9 to 5 job to this' Kevin Cameron was thrust into a full-time caring role 13 years ago when his partner suddenly suffered a stroke just two weeks after she gave birth to their second child. He was already helping look after his son, Tristan, then aged three, who has a number of additional needs including autism and ADHD and requires round-the-clock support. At the time, Kevin, from Enfield, North London, was working in market research for the BBC but had to drop everything to care not only for Tristan and new baby Reina, but also travelled every day into central London to visit partner Justina. “I suddenly had to drop everything,” recalls Kevin, 38. “She was in hospital for six months. “I had to tell work I wasn’t coming in for a while and I didn’t know when I would be back.” After using up holiday time and unpaid leave, he eventually had no choice but to quit his job. Even after returning home, Justina needed help and has never made a full recovery, placing the burden on Kevin. He says surviving as a carer has been tough, from the battling to make ends meet on benefits, including carers allowance of £86 a week, to the emotional and physical strain it has placed on him. “It was a huge, huge shock going from a simple 9 to 5 job to this,” he says. He also says the support provided has been sketchy. “I have had three referrals from my GP for mental health support in the past two years and they have all been turned down,” he explains. Kevin’s two big asks would be for employers to provider paid leave for carers and for better mental health support.