Call Durham:

0300 0051213

Text service:

07800 005830

Call Darlington:

0300 0301215

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Working Carers

If you’re juggling work with looking after someone, we can fit around you and help you to access support tailored for Working Carers
Funding to take a break new

Knowing your Rights in work:

Click HERE for new resources for working Carers from the Job Centre

Your rights in work come from two sources:

  • The law gives you ‘statutory rights’ which everyone has.
  • Your contract of employment gives you ‘contractual rights’ which can be more generous than statutory rights.
  • The Carer’s Leave Act 2023 came into force on 6 April 2024, providing all carers in employment with a new statutory right to take five days of unpaid leave from work each year to fulfil their caring responsibilities.

The following link will give you guidance about your statutory rights as a working carer. However, it’s always worth checking your contract of employment, staff handbook, HR policies or letter of appointment to see if you have any contractual rights on top of your statutory rights. Information about your general rights: see the GOV.UK website.

Did you know?.. As a Working Carer You can still access support for Carer Breaks, Benefits advice and much more from your Carer Support Coordinator.

If you have not yet signed up for support click here, you can even sign up for Information Only and still receive a Carers Discount Card.

For more information about your rights and guidence around being a Working Carer, download our Working Carers Employee Guide

 

The thought of getting back into work or leaving work can feel like a big step. Knowing the financial impact and what benefits you can claim might effect your decision.  If you are claiming benefits, working or studying might affect these benefits so it would be a good idea to have a benefits check before you make any decisions. Use our Benefits Calculator or text ‘Benefits Check’ to 07800 005830

Returning to work: A good start is to think about what job you might want by identifying your skills and interests.

Focus on yourself, clarify your goals and planning ahead.  CarersUK have a Learning for Living course available for Carers which helps you to show and make use of the skills learned from your caring role.

If you are, or have recently been, an unpaid carer, Open University Carers’ Scholarship could allow you to study an OU qualification for free. click here for more information

For Care Academy Courses click here

You can always speak to your Carer Support Coordinator for advice, if you don’t know their number then just call: 0300 005 1213

Carer Friendly Employer Training Hub
If you are looking for a Carer Friendly employer check out the list of employers at the bottom of the Training Hub. If you are an Employer, click here to get Carer Friendly Employer Accreditation. It will help you attract new talent and investing in employees will help you become an employer of choice.

What Carers have told us about this support:

“I did a benefits check when I was thinking about going back to work and found that I could still claim some benefits while working that I thought I would lose”.
“I was surprised to learn that the skills learned in my Caring role were attractive to my new employer and they were able to fit my hours around my Caring role”.
“I just couldn’t juggle work and my caring role. It was too much for me. I didn’t know what to do or what benefits I was entitled to when I left but my Carer Support Worker was a massive support. I don’t know what I would have done without them”.
“I volunteer now with Durham County Carers Support to keep my CV up to date and keep on track with skills and knowledge in the workplace so that when I can return to work I haven’t lost all the skills I had”.