Working while caring

Brave are proud to support Parenting Mental Health which aims to skill and support one million parents with vital resources, guides and connections while navigating their children's complex mental health challenges. On Wednesday night, Berni and Helen from Brave joined Suzanne – the founder of Parenting Mental Health - for conversations that matter to discuss “Working and Caring”.

There were five key things which came through in the conversation:

1.???? The importance of having an open and honest culture within an organisation which is respectful of the fact that people have personal lives and that the boundaries between work and home life can often blur.

2.???? The importance of communication and being able discuss with your manager what you are dealing with as soon as you can. This is a tough one as people are, understandably, nervous about highlighting their struggles and putting themselves and their performance under a spotlight.

3.???? Having an idea of what accommodations, you might need to be able to continue in your role while navigating the challenges you are facing. These might include changes to working patterns, a designated quiet space, acceptance of personal calls at desks and amends to seating arrangements such as moving from an open bank of desks facing inwards to one sitting within its own space. These are small accommodations that can have a massive impact when someone is navigating challenges.

4.???? Having support systems within an organisation that encourage people from different departments to talk to each other such as a buddy system where people are matched up and encouraged to get a coffee or go for a walk together at lunch. Often, if someone is reluctant to raise a matter with their line manager – they will open up to someone completely impartial and this will provide the support and confidence to start discussions.

5.???? The importance of knowing what you are entitled to in terms of support for ongoing challenges. There will be information within your contract and company handbook, and we have summarised the main legislation below which should help you to understand what you are entitled to.

What am I legally entitled to?

1.???? Parental leave. This is for parents who have one year of continuous employment and a child under 18. You can make a request for up to 18 weeks unpaid leave per child with a maximum of four weeks per child per year. You need to give 21 days’ notice and employers can say no but can only delay this for a maximum of six months. If you change companies, you can carry over the allowance from your previous role and all your employee rights are protected. This entitlement only applies to employees – not those that self-employed or a ‘worker’, eg an agency worker or contractor.

2.???? Dependent leave. This is for parents in an emergency which is short term in nature such as a call from school that your child needs collecting. There is no limit to how many times you can take this time for dependents, but your employer may talk to you if it impacts your work – to find other ways to support you. Payment for this time will be at the employer’s discretion and likely outlined within your contract or company handbook.

3.???? The Carer’s Leave Act 2023 (which is scheduled to come in from April 2024) will introduce a new entitlement to one week's unpaid leave per year for employees who are providing or arranging care, and you will be entitled to it from your first day of employment. The person being cared for must have a long-term physical or mental care need that requires or is likely to require care for three months or more, a disability as defined in the Equality Act 2010, or require care related to old age.

Employees will be required to self-certify their eligibility for carer’s leave, but they will not need to provide evidence to their employer of how or for whom the leave is being used, and will be offered the same protections from dismissal or detriment as they would if they had taken other types of family-related leave.

This new type of statutory leave is intended to be the minimum that an employer must provide to employees, but employers can provide greater entitlements, such as more than a week’s leave, or paid instead of unpaid leave. Doing so would help position an employer as ‘carer-friendly’, helping carers to remain in the workplace and attracting new prospective employees who have caring responsibilities.

And finally, we talked about the impact on your own mental health. The feelings of guilt that you may feel, feeling like you are always letting someone down – your employer or your child. And to this, we said a massive ‘we hear you’. I think that this is something everyone can relate to having experienced, but when you are feeling like this – please remember all that you bring to your role and the company you work for and the things you are providing for your child in continuing to work. Being there to support them is so important, but so are hobbies, trips, clothes, and food – and you are providing all of these to your child through your employment. You are doing the best you can do – please be kind to yourself.

If you have found this information helpful, then please consider a donation to Parenting Mental Health so that they can continue to provide the amazing services and support they do. For more information on legal entitlements, visit Statutory leave and time off - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) and if you would like to discuss any of the details included in this article then please contact us at [email protected].