In the past few months we have published a number of commentaries in response to the proposals included in the Department for Business and Trade (DBT) Consultation on employment rights for unpaid carers and parents of seriously ill children.
Researchers across the Centre for Care have provided their thoughts on what this consultation should do for unpaid carers including;
- Introducing paid carers leave – our Director Professor Kate Hamblin and Carers UK John Perryman call on a vast amount of evidence to recommend that DBT use this consultation to introduce paid carers leave.
- Looking Internationally for employment support examples in combining work and care – Professor Clare Gardiner reflects on her research into the experiences of end of life carers when balancing work and care, drawing on the example of employment support available in Canada to consider how employment support could be implemented in the UK.
- Considering how best to support parents of seriously ill children – Dr Kirsty Liddiard, Professor Katherine Runswick-Cole and Professor Dan Goodley respond to proposals for supporting parents of seriously ill children, including recommendations for an inclusive definition of “serious illness” and a suite of employment support mechanisms to help parents combine work and care.
We will be responding to the DBT Consultation (closing on the 1st September) advocating for paid carers leave, inclusive of all unpaid carers, as a priority. If you’ve not done so already, consider responding to this consultation to have your say on the proposals put forward by DBT to support working carers and parents.
About the author
Lucy is an Impact Associate in the Centre for Care, working closely with Fay Benskin and academics to improve the impact of research in decision making processes for key stakeholders across government policy and third sector organisations.
