Could your business benefit?
Durham County Council is funding a Carer Friendly Employer award for businesses across the county. The award process is delivered by Durham County Carers Support and enables businesses to access FREE information and materials to support staff who have caring responsibilities.
New statistics suggest that as many as 1 in 4 employees has a caring role but are often reluctant to mention their difficulties to their line manager. The Carer Friendly Employer award process simply raises awareness with employers of the difficulties faced by ‘working carers’. The aim is to prevent relatively small caring issues from becoming crises resulting in employees needing to leave their job. Engaging in the award process is free, flexible and virtual and ultimately a win-win for employers and staff.
We are delighted to report that Newton Press, Northern Rights, Dale Care and Contego Response are just a few of the businesses who have successfully achieved Carer Friendly Employer status. “The benefits of being a carer friendly organisation are huge. Having carer friendly practices improves staff morale, reduces sickness absence and promotes an open and supportive working environment for teams. …” (Carer Friendly Employer).
The entry level for the award is simply for managers to:
1. Understand the growing need for employers to support staff who have caring responsibilities, by being sent a short slide presentation to read in your own time.
2. Access the Employers for Carers Website (using Durham County Council’s umbrella membership code) where you can download valuable ‘working carer’ information for FREE.
Once these have been achieved, we are able to send the Carer Friendly Employer Mark, for your website, and a CFE certificate. Of course, if you would like to take the CFE award further and implement a policy or run training events, we’d be happy to help. If you are an employer who is interested in acquiring Carer Friendly Employer status, call Fiona on 07824 467440 or email fiona.kaley@dccarers.org