- A report by Opinium shows that 65 percent of informal caregivers are unemployed
More than a third of workers caring for a family member will be forced to leave their jobs or reduce their hours in the coming year, costing taxpayers £6 billion, a report has warned.
The groundbreaking research shows that as many as 41 percent of working-age caregivers are considering leaving the workplace or reducing their hours to care for their family member.
An exodus of carers from the workforce would cost the Treasury as much as £6.2 billion in lost taxes and extra benefits by 2024, the report says.
Between 2021 and 2022, almost 400,000 people left the workplace to care for a family member because they could not combine the demands with work.
An exodus of carers from the workforce would cost the Treasury as much as £6.2 billion in lost taxes and extra benefits by 2024 (Stock Image)
The report, entitled ‘Creating a Britain that Works and Cares’, comes against the backdrop of a crisis in social care (Stock Image)
The Center for Social Justice (CSJ) report warned that government targets to reduce economic inactivity would stagnate without better support for carers. It would also put further pressure on the already overburdened social care system, the report said.
In addition to the report, a survey conducted by Opinium found that 65 percent of caregivers are unemployed and that almost 64 percent of part-time workers would return to the workplace or work more hours with the ‘right support’. .
Their responses prompted the CSJ to make a series of recommendations to ease the burden on informal caregivers.
The policy included providing ten hours of free home care, £2,000 of free adjustments to make homes more accessible and an increase in the income threshold for Carers Allowance, from £139 to £250 per week.
Nearly 400,000 people left the workplace to care for a family member between 2021 and 2022 because they could not combine the demands with work (Stock Image)
The report’s recommendations were praised by leading charities (Stock Image)
Cristina Odone, head of the CSJ’s family policy department, said: ‘No one should have to sacrifice their own well-being because they are caring for a member of their family.
But by forcing family carers to choose between keeping a job and their caring responsibilities, this is exactly what our current social care system does.”
Family carers contribute an estimated £162 billion of unpaid care per year, far more than the £26.9 billion contributed by the taxpayer.
The report, titled ‘Creating a Britain that Works and Cares’, comes against the backdrop of a crisis in social care.
Skills for Care, the body that collects data on England’s social care workforce, reported in its October 2023 update that there were 152,000 vacancies.
There is uncertainty about the number of informal carers – previous NHS surveys found that in England there were 320,000 adult carers known to councils, while the 2021 census showed there were a total of five million adult carers in England.
The report’s recommendations were praised by leading charities.
Caroline Abrahams, charity director at Age UK, said: ‘These findings are a wake-up call for policymakers to stop taking unpaid carers for granted and give them the support they need.’
A government spokesperson said: ‘We have earmarked £327 million this year through our Better Care Fund to provide carers with advice and support, as well as short breaks and respite services.
‘According to the Informal Care Leave Act, eligible employees are entitled to one week of unpaid leave per year.
‘We are also making changes to flexible working legislation, which will enable people, including healthcare providers, to have better access to flexible working arrangements.’