There are half a million people juggling full or part time work and caring for a loved one with cancer in the UK.

Becoming a carer is often unexpected and can be one of life’s most emotional and physically demanding roles. It can sometimes be very hard to juggle caring and employment at the same time.

Naturally, caring responsibilities may cause absences. For example, an employee might take sick or annual leave when a crisis occurs, rather than asking for time off to care for someone with cancer. Often this is because people wrongly believe their caring role isn’t a legitimate reason to request leave, or the carer may not feel comfortable disclosing that they are caring for someone.

Employers may not always feel confident about how best to support an employee who is affected by cancer. Carers are often an overlooked group who have to combine working and earning an income with their new – and often unplanned – role as a carer.

Increased absences

Simply Health and CIPD, the professional body for HR and people development, reported in their annual absence survey that:

‘More than one in three employers report that absence levels have increased because their staff are struggling to cope with their caring responsibilities outside of work. And just one in six organisations have policies in place to help achieve a better balance between their home and working lives.’ 

However, we know that policies such as flexible working can make a big difference. One carer called Kat tells us:

‘I know if I have to leave the office in an emergency, I can, which is great. I have flexi-time arrangements which means I can adjust my hours so I can take care of my mum when she needs me.’

Carers’ legal rights

Working carers have legal rights, which aim to help them stay in work. These include the right to request flexible working or to have time off during an emergency and protection against discrimination. However, less than 20% of working carers know they have rights in the workplace.

Importantly, you should also consider the health and well-being of your employees. Being a carer can have an impact both physically and emotionally, which can affect the carer’s ability to work. They may find it difficult to concentrate or feel tired from lack of sleep. Being a carer can also make existing health problems worse, such as high blood pressure or back problems.

Training from Macmillan

Macmillan has a training programme called Macmillan at Work that helps workplaces support employees with a cancer diagnosis, or those caring for someone with cancer. To find out about the expert training, guidance and resources Macmillan provides, visit macmillan.org.uk/atwork

You can also email us at workandcancer@macmillan.org.uk or call 020 7840 4725 to discuss our training in more detail.