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New hope for carers as mum takes legal fight to Europe
When one woman took her battle against discrimination to the law courts, she secured new rights for the country's millions of carers. Grace Hammond reports.
There are more than six million carers in the UK, with more than 2.5 million juggling caring for a friend or relative with work.
The EU's backing for the mother of a disabled child to fight her case for discrimination could open the door to new rights for them.
An Advocate-General at the European Court of Justice has agreed that Sharon Coleman suffered "discrimination by association" after hearing her claims that she was "harassed" to resign from her job because she had a disabled son.
The 42-year-old claims she was forced to leave her position at a law firm because she was not allowed as much flexibility as the parents of other children.
If her case is upheld when it goes before a full panel of European judges for a final ruling later this year, the verdict could effectively give new rights to carers.
According to the charity Carers UK, around 80 per cent of carers are of working age and one in five are having to give up their jobs, which often places them in financial hardship as well as draining the workforce of experienced employees.
These unpaid carers are saving the economy 87bn per year, an average of 15,260 per carer, the charity says. But it claims their main benefit is just 48.65 for a minimum of 35 hours, equivalent to 1.39 an hour.
A week ago, an influential MPs' committee said that people looking after relatives with dementia are "in no way" receiving the support they need from the healthcare system.
In a report, the House of Commons Public Accounts Committee (PAC) said that without the unpaid work of carers – often spouses or children of the sufferer – the present system of care for dementia patients would be "unsustainable". Better support for them could save the healthcare system large sums
by keeping sufferers out of hospitals and care homes.
In recent years, gradual changes have meant that the rights of unpaid carers have started to be recognised. In 2005, Carers UK launched its Make Work Work campaign to help carers balance work with caring. It aimed to achieve recognition and flexible working rights.
Since then the campaign has already achieved its first major target – the legal right for carers to request flexible working from their employers.
This came about with the passing of the Work and Families Act 2006, which was enforced in April 2007 and while it has by and large been embraced by employers, there are a minority who flout the law.
"Most sensible employers now realise the benefits that come from being flexible and helping staff balance their lives,"said TUC general secretary Brendan Barber. "But there are many bosses still living in the last century, who need to be persuaded to do much, much more to help their employees have less stressful lives and not to make life even more difficult for those already shouldering caring responsibilities."
Last July, employers and charities called on the Government to provide tax breaks for carers to allow them to stay in the work place.
The London School of Economics assessed a scheme which would give tax breaks in return for care vouchers, which would be provided by employers as a benefit to staff who are carers. The tax breaks could be used to buy a range of services.
The LSE said the scheme could generate 83m worth of services in return for a 37m investment from the Government, which could pay for an extra 5.5 million hours of home care. And a year ago, the Government announced its New Deal for Carers, a multi-million package to provide respite for carers and a wide ranging review of the current strategy
for support.
The package would see money spent on providing short-term respite care in emergency situations and a national helpline for carers established.
At a consultation on the deal in Leeds last month, the Prime Minister praised the UK's carers as "heroes".
Gordon Brown said: "There are six million people who care for relatives or friends or neighbours. There are young people caring for elderly people; there are elderly people caring for young people; there are many double carers, people caring for both younger and elderly people; there are people caring for people with particular conditions that are difficult and need very specialist care indeed.
"And every one of you who is a carer is a hero."
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Saturday 11 February 2012
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