The intersection of employment and care: evidence from a UK case study

In the context of rising need for long-term care, reconciling unpaid care and carers' employment is becoming an important social issue. In England, there is increasing policy emphasis on paid services for the person cared for, sometimes known as 'replacement care', to support working carers. Previous research has found an association between 'replacement care' and carers' employment. However, more information is needed on potential causal connections between services and carers' employment. This mixed methods study draws on new longitudinal data to examine service receipt and carers' employment in England. Data were collected from carers who were employed in the public sector, using selfcompletion questionnaires in 2013 and 2015, and qualitative interviews were conducted with a sub-sample of respondents to the 2015 questionnaire. We find that, where the person cared for did not receive at least one 'key service' (home care, personal assistant, day care, meals, short-term breaks), the carer was subsequently more likely to leave employment because of caring, suggesting that the absence of services contributed to the carer leaving work. In the interviews, carers identified specific ways in which services helped them to remain in employment. We conclude that, if a policy objective is to reduce the number of carers leaving employment because of caring, there needs to be greater access to publicly-funded services for disabled and older people who are looked after by unpaid carers.

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“…; Milne et al . ). There is also evidence that employed carers in England would like more service support (Phillips et al .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 97%

‘Replacement Care’ for Working Carers? A Longitudinal Study in England, 2013–15

et al. 2017

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“…, Milne et al . ). Population‐based studies of disabled or older people in the UK have also found unmet need for services (Vlachantoni et al .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…Previous UK research on working carerspeople in paid employment who provide unpaid care to family or friends because of long-term physical or mental illhealth or disability, or problems related to old agehas found expressed unmet need for services (Mooney et al 2002, Phillips et al 2002, Yeandle et al 2007, Milne et al 2012. Population-based studies of disabled or older people in the UK have also found unmet need for services (Vlachantoni et al 2011).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Perceptions of unmet needs for community social care services in England. A comparison of working carers and the people they care for

Brimblecombe

Pickard

King

et al. 2016

Health Soc Care Community

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Perceptions of unmet needs for community social care services in England. A comparison of working carers and the people they care for Article (Accepted version) (Refereed) Original citation: Brimblecombe, Nicola, Pickard, Linda, King, Derek and Knapp, Martin (2017) Perceptions of unmet needs for community social care services in England. A comparison of working carers and the people they care for. Health & Social Care in the Community, 25 (2). Abstract Previous UK research has found expressed unmet need for services by unpaid working carers and among disabled and older people. There are, however, suggestions from research that views on unmet needs for services differ between carers and care-recipients. Working carers in the UK say that the care-recipient is sometimes reluctant to accept services and the few international comparative dyad studies that have been carried out find that carers perceive higher unmet need than care-recipients. Recent policy discussions in England have also recognised that there may be differences of opinion. We collected data in 2013 from working carer/care-recipient dyads in England about perceived need for services for the care-recipient, disability, unpaid care hour provision and individual and socio-demographic characteristics. We find that care-recipients as well as their carers perceive high unmet need for services, although carers perceive higher unmet need. For carers, unmet need is associated with the disability of the carer-recipient and being the daughter or son of the care-recipient; for care-recipients it is associated with unpaid care hours, carers' employment status and carers' health. The majority of dyads agree on need for services, and agreement is higher when the working carer provides care for 10 hours or more hours a week. Services for care-recipients may enable working carers to remain in employment so agreement on needs for services supports the implementation of legislation, policy and practice that has a duty to, or aims to, support carer's employment. What is known about this topic:  There is perceived unmet need for services by unpaid carers in England.  Expressed needs for services may differ between working carers and the people they care for in the UK.  Studies on dyads internationally find that perceived needs for services differ, with carers perceiving higher unmet need than care-recipients. What this paper adds:  Unmet need for services for the care-recipient in England is perceived as high by care-recipients, as well as by their working carers.  The majority of dyads agree on whether or not more services are needed.  Agreement on unmet need is higher when carers provide care for 10 or more hours a week compared to when carers provide fewer hours of care. 4

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“…For instance, the experience of being a carer varies according to the number of hours spent caring, length of caregiving, type of care required, relationship, nature of the cared for person's needs and access to and acceptability of formal services. Older spouses tend to resist the 'intrusion' of 'outsiders' (including services) because they rarely identify themselves as 'carers'; this not only positions them in an oppositional status to their wife/husband but challenges the 'care contract' that underpins long-term marriage (Milne and Hatzidimitriadou, 2003;Arksey and Glendinning, 2007;Milne et al, 2012). Women, for example, who are the majority of carers, report higher levels of subjective burden, feel more obliged to give up paid work to care and are more reluctant to ask for an 'assessment of need' or support from services than their male counterparts (Milne and Williams, 2003).…”

Section: Carer Care and Caringmentioning

confidence: 99%

Carers and Empowerment in the UK: A Critical Reflection

Larkin¹,

Milne²

2013

Social Policy & Society

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This article provides a critical reflection on carer empowerment in the UK, an issue which has received limited attention in policy and research. The arena is characterised by considerable conceptual confusion around key terminology, carer, care and caring, and by limited understanding of the meaning and outcomes of carer empowerment. Despite increased national acknowledgment of carers, a politically active carers' movement and a number of policies intended to enhance the recognition and rights of carers, many carers remain invisible and receive little support from services, to the detriment of their own health and well-being. Addressing these challenges, alongside developing a robust theoretical foundation for taking the 'carers' agenda' forward, is needed if carers are to move towards a more empowered status in the twenty-first century.

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The intersection of employment and care: evidence from a UK case study

Cited by 17 publications

References 10 publications

‘Replacement Care’ for Working Carers? A Longitudinal Study in England, 2013–15

‘Replacement Care’ for Working Carers? A Longitudinal Study in England, 2013–15

Perceptions of unmet needs for community social care services in England. A comparison of working carers and the people they care for

Carers and Empowerment in the UK: A Critical Reflection

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