Emma Morris, Co-Chair of Parent & Carer Network.
Did you know?
- There are 6.5million people in the UK who are providing unpaid care.
- Around 1 in 9 workers in the UK are caring for another person and every day another 6000 people become a carer.
- 2.3million people in the UK have given up work completely to care for someone, and nearly 3million have reduced their working hours.
- Around 38% of employees who provide care said that they feel uncomfortable discussing their caring duties in the workplace, and 35% feel that their employer does not understand their caring role.
The Parent & Carer Network is available for all SHU staff who are working carers, whether you provide a substantial amount of care for a relative or whether you simply help a neighbour with domestic tasks, we can offer support when you need it most.
You may be reading this and still feeling a little uncertain as to whether this applies to you…it takes an average of 2 years for someone to recognise themselves as a carer! If you have questions about your caring status, or perhaps you’re on the brink of becoming a carer, please feel free to get in touch with us, we are more than happy to try and answer any questions you might have.
We’re not experts by any stretch but we can signpost you to various organisations who can provide practical, financial and emotional support. We can also sign you up to our Buddy Scheme where other staff who have similar circumstances can meet with you for a friendly and informal chat; sometimes all you need is someone to talk to who understands the unique challenges that caring can bring.
In addition, we work closely with the University’s Flexible Working Group to ensure that the needs of our carers are being taken into consideration; caring can be unpredictable and balancing work and care can be a real challenge so flexible working is critical to ensuring that carers feel supported at work.
Click here to access some useful links
SHU is also committed to helping young carers too! This Carers Week our Student Wellbeing teams will be supporting the Sheffield Young Carers charity to create a new world record for the longest ever paper-chain – and you can help! Simply visit the website for instructions, or you can go and see it in action on Thursday 13th June between 10am and 4pm near Debenhams on The Moor.
The completed chain will be paraded up to the Town Hall and then on to Hallam Square for the annual Carers Week celebration.
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