Helping unpaid carers balance ​​work and ​​care

Across the UK, millions of people provide unpaid care. Research from the Centre for Care has enabled carers to better balance their work with providing care.

When Chris’s wife had a stroke at just 31, his life changed overnight. One day they were both working in a financial firm, the next, Chris found himself her carer.

“The stroke caused some lasting brain damage. It was a huge shock and continues to affect us even fifteen years later. It changed all our lives,” he says.

Day to day, Chris, based in Sheffield, juggles work and family life while managing his wife’s medication and numerous hospital appointments. When her pain flares, he needs to take leave at short notice.

New legal protection for unpaid carers

Chris’s story is far from unique. Many of us will care for a loved one at some stage. At present, 5.8 million people in the UK provide unpaid care for friends, relatives or partners ​​living with illness or disability. These carers play a vital but often unseen role in sustaining families, communities and the wider economy.

Now, thanks to innovative research from the Centre for Care, led by The University of Sheffield, millions of carers benefit from new legal protections designed to help them better balance work and care. ​​

The centre’s work was pivotal in debates that led up ​​to the Carer’s Leave Act, enacted in 2024. For the first time, employees now have the legal right to take up to five days’ unpaid leave annually for caring responsibilities. This flexible leave, taken as half-days or full days, makes it easier for unpaid carers to manage care commitments alongside their jobs.

Addressing the challenges facing carers and those they support​

The Centre for Care is funded by ​​UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), which invests taxpayers’ money into projects that improve people’s lives, and the National Institute for Health and Care Research. It brings together experts on care from universities, charities and the UK’s Office for National Statistics. Crucially, its researchers collaborate closely with those experiencing care and support, ensuring their voices help shape solutions.

Caring will impact us all at some point in our lives, but is often talked about in terms of crisis, if at all. By working with people who receive care and support, carers and care workers, the Centre for Care is tackling the issues that matter most to them.

Professor Kate Hamblin

Director of the Centre for Care

Highlighting the human cost of unpaid care

Prior to the Carer’s Leave Act, carers like Chris were often forced to use holiday or sick leave for every hospital visit or sudden crisis. For many already facing burnout, that gap in policy had very real human costs.

As Chris recalls: “My employer at the time didn’t have anything in place to support carers. I had to rely on sick leave or draining my annual leave, which left me with less time for my own wellbeing and family holidays.”

Through analysis of existing data, alongside interviews with carers, Centre for Care researchers found this was a widespread problem, affecting carers’ earnings and pension prospects. The research also revealed the impact was not felt equally, with women and young people suffering the greatest decline in income and career opportunities.

Driving a change in the law

The Centre for Care’s findings went far beyond academic publications. Researchers actively engaged with the government, responding to calls for evidence on unpaid caring, submitting data to highlight the need for dedicated leave, and briefing MPs ahead of key parliamentary debates.

Ultimately, their efforts informed the Carer’s Leave Act by demonstrating both the moral imperative and economic value of supporting carers. Professor Hamblin explains, “Our research revealed that unpaid care in the UK is worth around £184 billion each year. That’s comparable to a second NHS. That figure is a powerful shorthand for the sheer scale of contributions that carers make to society and our economy.”

Sending a message: carers matter

The Carer’s Leave Act is more than just a practical tool, it signals a shift in attitudes. It allows carers to plan time to assist the people they care for and support, to be there at the hospital or on the difficult days, without jeopardising their own wellbeing or jobs.

It also recognises caring as a social responsibility that deserves structural support rather than a private, hidden matter. “It sends a clear message to carers: what you do matters enough to be written into law. It raises visibility and recognition of the role carers play,” adds Professor Hamblin.

For Chris, the Act has been “invaluable”, giving him flexibility to be there for his wife and reassuring him that he’s not alone.

The reality is, almost everyone will either be a carer or need care at some point in their life. That’s why the research being carried out at the Centre for Care is so important. It’s giving carers a voice and helps to break down the stigma of caring in society.

Chris

Carer

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