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Extract from ‘Fact Sheet for Employers: Carers and Work’

Quoted with permission from the Working Carers Support Gateway, http://www.workingcarers.org.au

The population of employees with care responsibilities has grown, and will continue to do so, due to a number of factors. These include the ageing of the population, the growing preference of women to be in paid work, and government policies that support people to live in the community. Employers can respond to these trends by supporting employees with caring responsibilities.

Juggling the competing demands of work and caring can be stressful for employees, but there is good evidence that the right supports in the workplace can make a real difference for the employee, and have benefits for the employer as well.

For employers, the benefits of supporting carers include:

Reduced costs through less employee turnover, lower absenteeism and sickness, and higher rates of return on investment in trained and experienced employees;
Improved labour flexibility through the availability of a larger, more diverse labour pool, improved access to scarce skills, and a better ability to meet peaks in workload;
Enhanced motivation of workers, including improved morale, greater staff loyalty and reduced levels of employee stress.
Improved business performance; and
Good corporate citizenship and enhanced corporate image.

Every caring situation is different. The kinds of assistance that carers provide to their family member will vary depending on factors such as the age of the person receiving care, the nature of their disability or illness, the length of time they have needed support, whether or not they live in the same household, cultural background and the community supports that they receive.

Carers’ needs may be very simple, such as the ability to leave work on time, or access to a telephone so that they can check on the person they support. Some carers will benefit from ongoing flexible arrangements, while other will need them on a temporary or sporadic basis. Also, people’s circumstances and needs may change over time.