Usdaw - supporting working carers (Leaflet 343)

Date: 30 April 2008

Usdaw - supporting working carers

If you regularly provide care to someone this is essential reading. It explains your rights as a carer and what Usdaw is doing to win you a better deal.

• Are you juggling your job with looking after someone?
• Over three million people in the UK are working carers and many of them are Usdaw members.
• Working carers can sometimes feel as if they are doing two jobs - one paid and one unpaid.
• Carers do a hugely important job and need support.
• Usdaw is here to offer support to working carers.

Money

If you are thinking of claiming, the best advice is to get guidance - the benefits system is complex and, depending on what you claim, your other benefits or those of the person you are looking after may increase or decrease.

Carer's allowance: £50.55 per week

• This is the main state benefit for carers
• It is not affected by any savings you may have
• The person you care for could be a relative, friend or neighbour
• Carer's allowance can be paid to more than one person in a household, such as a couple caring for each other

To get carer's allowance you must be:

• Looking after someone for at least 35 hours a week
• Not earning more than £95 a week
• The person you are looking after must be getting a qualifying disability benefit (this means either attendance allowance or the middle or higher rate care component of Disability Living Allowance)

To claim carer's allowance you need to get form DS700 from:

• Your local social security office
• Benefits enquiry line on 0800 882 200 (0800 220 674 in Northern Ireland) Textphone 0800 24 33 55
• You can also claim online at www.dwp.gov.uk

You get a class 1 National Insurance Credit for every week in which you receive Carer's Allowance - this will help you qualify for a state pension.

Disability Living Allowance (DLA)/Attendance Allowance (AA)

If the disabled person is over 65 they should claim Attendance Allowance instead. You can get either of these benefits no matter what your income or savings are.

Paid because you need looking after (care component)	AA	DLA
Highest rate	£67.00	£67.00
Middle rate	-	£44.85
Lowest rate	£44.85	£17.75

Paid to help you get around (mobility component)
Higher rate	£46.75
Lower rate	£17.75

If you get DLA or AA you may be eligible for more Income Support, Housing Benefit, Pension Credit or Council Tax Benefit.

To claim: ring the Department for Work and Pensions helpline for carers and disabled people on 0800 882200 and ask for a claim form.

Incapacity Benefit

Under state pension age
Short-term lower rate	£63.75
Short-term higher rate	£75.40
Long-term basic rate	£84.50
Over state pension age
Short-term lower rate	£81.10
Short-term higher rate	£84.50

Health benefits

Support for carers

You can find out what services are available in your area by contacting social services. Alternatively, carers organisations such as Carers UK can direct you to local sources of information. You'll find their contact details near the end of this web page.

The main types of help carers can get are:

Help at home - help with the practical tasks of looking after someone.

Day care - this is usually provided by social services and it can give both you and the person you are caring for a break from routine.

Aids and equipment - your GP or social services can guide you through the equipment available to help carers and disabled people manage everyday life more easily.

Adapting the home - grants may be available to help with the costs of repairing or adapting the disabled person's home or your home if they live with you. Social services or your local housing department can tell you more.

Carers services - most local authorities now have support services for carers. These can be anything which help the carer to look after the person or to help maintain the carers health and well being.

Examples of the kinds of help available in some areas are:

• A mobile phone to give a carer peace of mind when they are away from the person they look after
• Help with taxi fares so the carer can get to work on time
• Counselling to deal with stress and worry

You will need to ask your local authority what services they provide to carers as it differs from one area to the next.

Direct payments - this is money given to you or the person you care for by your social services department. You use the money to buy the services you need instead of social services providing them directly.

Vouchers - some local authorities give vouchers to the person you are caring for to allow them to buy in support whilst you have a break.

Carers assessment - all carers have a legal right to an assessment of their needs. This is done by social services and is a discussion with you about what help you need with caring. The assessment should also look at what help you need to balance the many demands you have on you.

Your rights at work

The right to time off work when there's a problem at home

For example:

• There has been a breakdown in your normal care arrangements, for instance if your normal childminder or home help does not turn up or is ill
• The person you care for has fallen ill or had an accident and is injured or upset. The illness does not need to be life threatening and may be the result of a deterioration in an existing condition
• To deal with an incident involving a child during school hours
• To make longer term arrangements for a dependant who is ill or injured. This might mean taking a sick child to stay with relatives or finding a temporary carer
• To deal with the death of the person you care for
• When a dependant is having a baby

In most cases Government guidance says that one or two days should be enough to sort out the problem but clearly there will be circumstances where you will need more time.

You cannot be treated unfairly or disciplined by your employer for taking time off for dependants.

Get hold of a copy of Usdaw's Your right to time off for family emergencies, leaflet 349, for more information.

Parental leave

There is, of course, nothing to stop you from asking your employer if you can change your hours of work now. For more advice on doing this, or if your employer wants you to work different hours that don't fit in with your caring commitments, talk to your Usdaw rep or your Usdaw Area Organiser.

Usdaw - campaigning for carers

The Right to Request Flexible Working

For more information on this right, get a copy of Usdaw's leaflet on The Right to Request Flexible Working. You can download this from our web site or get a copy by calling your local Usdaw office.

Paid time off for carers

• If their condition deteriorates suddenly
• When they come home after a spell in hospital
• In their last weeks of life

Extend Carer's Allowance to more low paid working carers

Help our campaign

• Support Usdaw's Parents and Carers Campaign
• Write to your MP to ask them to support rights for working carers
• e-mail us at equalitymatters@usdaw.org.uk and let us know what you think the pressures are for working carers and what extra support they need

Our evidence will go direct to the Government. The more personal stories people can tell us, the more Government will listen.

Useful organisations for carers

Carers UK
Carers line 0808 808 7777
www.carersuk.org.uk

The Princess Royal Trust for Carers
0844 800 4361
www.carers.org

For more information about Usdaw and our campaigns, please contact your union rep or your nearest Usdaw office. Telephone: 0845 6060640 (calls charged at local rate) or e-mail: parentsandcarers@usdaw.org.uk.

This leaflet was produced with the kind help of Carers UK

Usdaw - supporting working carers (Leaflet 343) was correct at date of publication April 2008.

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© 2003 (USDAW) Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers
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Last Modified: Thursday, 11-Sep-2008 23:20:28 EST