“There is no one ‘type’ of carer – their situations and needs are diverse. Policy must reflect these differences.” argues Eloise Sacares, Researcher at the Fabian Society

Many of us already care for a family member or a friend, and many more will in the future. We should be able to care for our loved ones without having to give up our job or our financial security. But too often, caring costs us that security, and the vital work done by unpaid carers goes unrecognised, unsupported and unrewarded.

This failure significantly affects unpaid carers – Carers UK found that 46 per cent of unpaid carers receiving Carers Allowance are cutting back on essentials like food and heating. And 72 per cent are worried about the impact of caring on their finances. But there is also a wider economic impact. Age UK estimates that the additional GDP from carers being able to work would be £5.3bn each year – a sum we are currently missing out on.

This problem will get worse if it is left unaddressed. People are living longer and with more complex needs. That’s why we must think about policy to address this now – and this starts with supporting all carers through better employment and financial protections.

To do so, we must first recognise that there is no one ‘type’ of carer – their situations and needs are diverse. Policy must reflect these differences. The Fabian Society’s new report, ‘Caring for Carers’, sets out a series of policy options to help carers in different circumstances – including those in full-time work, part-time work, full-time education, and those who are unable to work (often due to the intensity of their caring responsibilities).

For carers in work, we suggest a right to 2 weeks paid carers’ leave, with the possibility for a further 2-week unpaid extension. A third (33 per cent) of those surveyed by Carers UK who had given up work or reduced their working hours to care, said paid carer’s leave would help them to return to work or increase their working hours, compared to only nineteen per cent for unpaid leave. And this policy would build on the government’s new entitlement for one week of unpaid carer’s leave – a notable legislative achievement, but one that just doesn’t go far enough to financially support carers.

We also suggest a ‘right to return’ for carers who need to leave work for a period of months, which replicates maternity leave. While it could first be introduced without any new expenditure, with those taking it eligible for existing caring benefits, in the medium term we suggest it is expanded into a paid scheme (either through statutory leave or employment insurance). The International Longevity Centre recommends a maternity-style leave scheme in their ‘One hundred not out: a route map for long lives’, arguing that this would bring greater parity for the care of adults with the care of children.

For part-time workers, we suggest reforms to benefits that make work pay. Currently, carers risk losing their entitlement to benefits if they work, so we propose introducing a work allowance in universal credit, and increasing the earnings limit in carers allowance, to allow carers to work more hours without losing their benefits.

For people in full-time education, we propose that they should be allowed to receive carer’s benefits. Currently, carers can only study for 21 hours without losing their entitlement to the Carer’s Allowance, which affects young adult carers especially. These young adults are four times more likely to drop out of college or university than students without caring responsibilities.

Finally, carers who can’t work at all need significant support. Financial support for those who are not in work and providing high levels of care is currently very limited: carers only receive around £43 per week extra in universal credit compared to the standard allowance, and carer’s allowance is the lowest of all comparable benefits. This is despite public opinion supporting more generous benefits for this group.

We therefore suggest first raising means-tested benefits for non-working households with a carer. Then, as in Scotland, we recommend an uplift to Carer’s Allowance (the non-means tested payments available to carers). Further, a carer’s pension credit and early access to pension benefits would help carers who have been out of the labour market for a long time and accrued fewer pension contributions.

Individually, these measures could fill policy gaps and increase support for specific groups of carers. But together, these measures form a targeted package of support that recognises the diversity of circumstances and needs for different kinds of carers.

Carers have spent too long with their contribution to society going unrewarded. We must now care for our carers, like they care for us.

You can read the full Caring for Carers report, kindly supported by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, here.