Balancing paid employment and caring responsibilities is hard work.

Carers Leeds wants all employers in the city to acknowledge that there will be carers in their workforce and to encourage open conversations about the impact of caring alongside paid employment. We want all working carers to know that they will be supported by their employer.

Anyone who is in paid employment in addition to providing unpaid care to a family member or friend. The carer might work full time or part time and they might be the cleaner or the CEO.

We know that at least 1 in 7 working age adults will have caring responsibilities.

By getting to know the carers are in your organisation you can help ensure they remain in employment so you don’t loose vital skills and knowledge. Feeling supported at work means fewer unplanned absences and continued productivity from your workforce.

Supporting Working Carers Matters to your Business

Reduces stress and resultant sickness leave

Reduces unplanned absence and loss of productivity

Reduces risk of associated discrimination

Increases wellbeing of working carers in your workforce

Increases attraction, productivity and retention

Enhances your values and employer brand

Carers Leeds can work with your organisation to identify, support and retain working carers.

We facilitate a regular Employer Forum which helps employers in the city to share good practice and stay up to date with national legislation. We can help you to develop policies and procedures to identify and support carers in your workforce. We can provide training for managers and provide information for displays and events.

As an employer of working carers ourselves, we have achieved Carer Confident Ambassador Employer accreditation from Carers UK, joining the likes of BT & HSBC.  This means we offer best practice support to you as an employer.  We can help you to become a Carer Confident too!

Employers in Leeds meet quarterly either face to face or online, to share good practice and ideas around identifying, engaging, supporting and retaining carers in their workforce. Our next forum date is listed below.

We currently have more than 50 Leeds employers involved including Leeds Teaching Hospitals Trust, Morrisons, Yorkshire Building Society, Clarion Solicitors and BAM Construction.

Forum members would usually be a representative from HR, someone in an EDI role or a Network Lead. As a Forum member you can also expect to receive a quarterly newsletter and you will be invited to participate in our annual survey of employers. For more information about our Employer Forum, please contact employers@carersleeds.org.uk.

6 August 2025   —   09:30 – 11:30

Carers Leeds Online Employer Forum – Summer 2025

Online

We can work with individual employers to review your current policies and procedures for identifying and supporting working carers and help employers to create an action plan for improvements.

We can provide training to Line Mangers and the HR workforce to raise awareness of the importance and the benefits of identifying and supporting working carers. Training can be delivered in person or online. 

In addition to all the above we can provide you with leaflets, posters and online resources to be shared with your workforce. 

If you have any enquiries about joining the employers forum or to request training for employers/managers, please email employers@carersleeds.org.uk

When colleagues share their experience of working and caring at the same time, they often feel less alone and feel able to come forward to you for support.

There are many ways of making caring visible at work such as team talks, lunch and learns, wellness days and by supporting Carers Week and Carers Rights Day.

Carers Leeds can provide a speaker at your event to shine a light on the realities of being a carer, and the support available to them inside and out of work.

Find out more about booking Carers Leeds for your event.

Email employers@carersleeds.org.uk