Businesses in Gloucestershire can get free training to help them support working carers from Crossroads Care Gloucestershire's new Working Carers project.
Employees who also have unpaid caring responsibilities face unique challenges, which the new sessions aim to help employers understand.
Crossroads Care Gloucestershire already supports the county's unpaid carers and their families through day clubs and in-home care — and its latest project will see specialists from the charity visit local workplaces to provide valuable information and advice to employers, as well as support to employees who are also carers.
Available to Gloucestershire businesses of all sizes, the project also gives employers the opportunity to become an accredited Gloucestershire Caring Workplace, with specialist training to help them recruit, support and retain workers who are dealing with caring responsibilities outside work.
It's estimated that more than seven million people in paid employment are also unpaid carers: a number which has increased significantly since 2020, with up to 600 people a day leaving their job to provide care for someone they love.
Crossroads Care Gloucestershire CEO, Helen Baker, said: 'All carers are copers but working carers are super copers. We find a lot tend to hide their care responsibilities as they don’t want it to affect how they are seen in the workplace.
'We want to work with businesses to help drive a culture where working carers feel supported and have the confidence to access all the help that’s available to them.
'Working carers across the county have told us the best place to receive support is through their workplace. And as demand for caregiving is only set to increase, Gloucestershire businesses have the chance to set the standard for being responsible, caring friendly employers.'
The Working Carers project from Crossroads Care Gloucestershire is funded by the Carers Trust 'Making Carers Count' programme, which supports under-represented carer groups who lack vital support and information.
To find out more, or to book a free one-hour carer awareness session for your business, call Crossroads Care Gloucestershire on (01452) 933503.
