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1 in 9 people in Ireland balance a family caring role for a loved one with additional care needs alongside paid employment. Now more than ever, companies must work towards supporting and empowering their caring employees. Become a Caring Employer today and join pioneering companies like Irish Life and Canada Life, Bank of Ireland, Irish Rail, SETU (Carlow and Waterford), Lidl Ireland, Department of Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform, An Post, Department of Agriculture, Food & Marine, AIB, Tesco Ireland, Grant Thornton, Mercer, HSBC and PwC - who are all committed to creating a caring work environment, whether that is in the office, warehouse, retail, on-site or at home.
Click here to listen to listen to Margaret Gribben, Head of DEI, Irish Life Group discuss how the programme has impacted the lives of their caring employees.
Pictured: Irish Rail and Family Carers Ireland at the official launch of Caring Employers, June 2022.
Join The Change!
270,000
People juggling work alongside a caring role
![Eldercare-related work interruptions estimated cost to businesses [1]](/media/1374/cash-icon.png){kind=icon}
€615 M
Eldercare-related work interruptions estimated cost to businesses [1]
40,000
Increase in children born with a disability (Census 2016)
Family carers provide unpaid care at home to their children (and adult children), spouses, relatives, siblings, friends with additional needs, physical or intellectual disabilities, rare diseases, mental health challenges, chronic illness, palliative care illness, addiction, ageing parents. Behind every diagnosis is most often a family carer and for many, they do not self-identify as a family carer but as Mums, Dads, siblings, relatives and friends. Family Carers Ireland is here to ensure that no-one has to care alone.
There are 500,000+ family carers in Ireland today, of which 270,000 are juggling their career alongside their caring role in the home. Family Carers Ireland are calling on companies, no matter what your size, to adopt a carer-centric culture and support the 1 in 9 within your workforce who are both caring for a loved one with additional needs and managing their career.
Our people are our power. The landscape has changed radically in Ireland since the beginning of Covid-19, with many now working a hybrid model of office and home, alongside an employee-driven market. Also, with a continued reduction in day services and very little, and in some cases no access to respite - as a society and as employers, we need to ensure family carers are acknowledged within the workplace and avoiding the juggle-struggle. Striking that balance has become even more of a challenge and one we at Family Carers Ireland can help you navigate and support.
FCI's Caring Employers programme is focused on creating an inclusive and supportive workplace for employees who have caregiving responsibilities. By establishing best practice standards, our one-of-a-kind programme helps employers better understand and accommodate the needs of staff who care for individuals with disabilities, mental illness, addiction, chronic conditions, or elderly family members.
Supporting employees with caregiving duties can include offering flexible work arrangements, access to counseling services, or providing time off when needed. This not only helps retain valuable employees but also promotes a more empathetic and supportive work environment.
At Family Carers Ireland, we want to keep family carers working, so they avoid isolation and the dangers of falling off a financial cliff by having to give up work. Life is about compromise, and the same can be said for work. It’s a two way street.
It's very simple. This dual approach not only benefits your employees, but it also benefits you, the employer. Research demonstrates that family carers who have a job are generally happier, healthier and more secure financially than family carers who do not have outside employment. Over time however, the cumulative effect of being a "working carer" places increasing stress on the employee. In these instances, many family carers feel the only option is to give up work to care full time. So the business case for employers to support carers centres on the merits of retaining superior employees and avoiding the costs and disruption of recruiting replacements.
With very little cost or restriction, you can provide these supports and foster a compassionate community and progressive team ethos which leads to a more productive workforce. And Family Carers Ireland does all the work.
There is evidence to show that the current impact of staff turnover, absenteeism and the stress caused by juggling work with caring responsibilities has a significant impact on business. A US study from 2006 estimated the cost to business of ‘eldercare-related work interruptions’ to be over $33.6 billion per year (0.24% of the entire US GDP that year). [1]
This gives some indication of the possible scale of the costs in Ireland. If family caring has a similar impact on work in this country, it could be costing Irish businesses over €615 million every year. [2]
By offering greater flexibility and support to employees juggling paid employment and family caring, employers could significantly reduce these costs, save money, increase productivity and retain their most valuable asset – their staff.
[1] MetLife Market Institute (2006) referenced by Lero et al. (2012)
[2] B&A Omnibus Survey 2019, surveying 1000 adults
To deliver on these objectives, we are committed to providing you with a bespoke programme of events over a 12 month period that will provide practical supports for your staff. These range from People Manager Workshops to practical webinars covering a range of topics i.e. Elder Care, Dementia Care, Coping with Behaviours that Challenge, Falls Management, Self-Care for Carers, Power of Attorney, Fair Deal, Emergency Contingency Planning, Your Rights & Entitements, Anticipated Caring - the list goes on. We listen to what your team needs and bring our initiative into the heart of your organisation as we develop a programme designed by family carers, for family carers.
Caring Employers is about collaboration and partnership.
You and us.
Yes, there is a annual membership fee but we understand every company and size is different, so we work with you based on your own organisation's make up.
We are a charity and don’t like playing hard ball, but we are passionate about creating change in Ireland and making our workplaces more carer-centric and inclusive.
What we promise is a collaborative, value-led approach that not only aims to support those currently caring, but educates those who may become family carers in the coming years. Remember, by 2030, 1 in 5 of us will be in a caring role. So the time is now to future-proof your organisation.
Interested in learning more and joining the change? We’re all about having a virtual coffee or a face-to-face and a chat. However you would like to do business, we’ll follow your lead!
Please complete this quick form and we’ll be in touch with you.
