Transcript v - EFC

Employers for Carers
Members’ Networking Event
London, 24 March 2015
Creating a healthy
working environment
Dame Carol Black
Expert Adviser on Health and Work
Department of Health and Public Health England
Principal, Newnham College Cambridge
The Working Life
Society needs the maximum number of productive years from as
many people as possible. Those not working depend on others.
We need the ratio of earners and wealth-generators to dependants
(children, pensioners, unemployed) to be as high as possible.
Childhood
Working life
Retirement
Being sufficiently healthy is a condition for work, and
maximising healthy life as a proportion of total life is
therefore a desirable goal for individuals and society.
Prediction: Future populations will have longer survivors,
with more chronic conditions.
We are living considerably
longer lives after 65…
Cohort life expectancy at 65 (England and Wales)
30
Years
1 in 4 children born
today can expect to
live to 100
Welfare state
introduced
25
State pension
introduced
20
In 1900 a 65 year old would
have about 11 years of life
remaining, barely changed
from 1850. By 2000 this had
risen to 20 and is forecast to
reach about 26 by 2050
Lloyd George
pension
15
10
5
Male
Female
2056
2043
2030
2017
2004
1991
1978
1965
1952
1939
1926
1913
1900
1887
1874
1861
1848
0
Source: ONS
Reasons for retiring early
From PRIME report on economic barriers to over 50s
%
(Prince’s Initiative for Mature Enterprise (now in BiTC))
The missing million: illuminating the employment
challenges of the over 50s.
2013
Own illhealth
More time
Fed up
Made
redundant Offered with partner Enjoy life with job
Ill-health
relative/friend
good finance
still young
The world of work is changing
• The industrial landscape is changing, and a
knowledge-based economy has emerged
• Globalisation of labour markets, leading to a
work-anywhere culture
• Transferable skills needed, with flexibility,
upskilling, lifelong education and training.
The pattern of
damage at work
is changing.
Mental ill-health
is increasing.
• Female employment projected to increase,
reaching 47.5 % of the total in 2020 UK.
• Many people wanting or having to work after 65.
• Fewer permanent ‘core’ staff, with out-sourcing
and zero-hours contract work
• Concept of ‘good work’ and wellbeing
The Workplace – its role
Work places, especially larger ones, are a microcosm of society. They can:
• ensure ‘good work’ and good organisational health
• ensure that all managers are trained in effective communication,
awareness and learning with respect to wellbeing and mental illhealth, including the health of carers
• encourage a culture of health, healthy lifestyles and physical activities,
and develop a culture of health (mental and physical) at work
• provide powerful communication opportunities, and peer support.
Good Work
• Stable and safe work - that is not precarious
• Individual control – part of decision making
• Work demands – quality and quantity
• Fair employment – earnings and security from
employer
• Flexible arrangements – e.g. for carers
• Opportunities – training, promotion, “growth”
• Promotes Health and WellBeing – mental and
physical
• Prevents social isolation, discrimination & violence
• Shares information - participation in decision making,
collective bargaining, justice in conflicts
• Reintegrates sick or disabled wherever possible.
(mixture of Marmot and
The Work Foundation)
Problems carers face
• In order to care, many feel forced to give up work or reduce hours.
Currently 350,000 carers have left the UK labour market.
• Many carers leave work because they feel unsupported by their
employer and co-workers. This damages carers’ wellbeing and
wastes valuable skills.
• Evidence suggests that a key factor in supporting carers to remain in
work is having a supportive and ‘carer aware’ workplace.
• The problem of carers feeling unable to combine work and care is set
to grow – as the number of people with caring responsibilities
rises as the population ages.
• In twenty years there will be 50% more people aged over 65, and
100% more aged over 85.
How business can support carers
Steps to support carers in the workforce include:
• flexible working
• remote working
• signposting carers to information about care and
support services, to help them to continue in work
• establishing carers’ networks within their organisation
• having a clear, easily accessible, policy setting out the
support available to carers.
Health benefits of staying in work
• Research has shown that :
• around 50% of carers say that their health has been affected;
and 40% say that personal relationships, social life or
leisure time are affected
• paid employment reduces social exclusion, maintains social
networks, and enables sharing concerns ….
• … offering temporary relief from caring, enhanced self-esteem,
and beneficial effects on health and emotional wellbeing.
• carers who have given up work are more likely to be
in poor health and struggling financially than
those in employment.
Business benefits
• The peak age for caring is 45 to 64, when many
employees will have valuable skills and experience.
• The cost of replacing an employee – recruitment, retraining,
lost productivity – can equal a full year’s salary. So
supporting carers to stay in work can save significantly.
• A major utility company saved over £1m in 2006 by retaining
carers through workplace support.
• Over half employers asked about the benefits of supporting
carers to remain in work cited ‘staff retention’, and some
mentioned increasing morale and engagement.
Good Workplaces
Key features common to those organisations which have achieved
success in promoting physical and mental health and well-being:
• Senior visible leadership
• Accountable appropriately-trained managers throughout the
organisation
• Integration of traditional Health and Safety with promotion of
Health and Wellbeing
• Monitoring and measurement to ensure continuous improvement
• Empowering and facilitating employees to care for
their own health
• Enabling staff engagement
Public Health Responsibility Deal
Health at Work pledges
“ The Responsibility Deal is a Coalition response to challenges which we
know cannot be solved by regulation and legislation alone .. ..
. a partnership between Government, business and other
organisations that balances proportionate regulation with
corporate responsibility.”
Established 2010 , delivered through four Networks : food, alcohol,
physical activity and the ....
Health at Work Network, with nine collective pledges :
H1.
H2.
H3.
H4.
Chronic conditions and carers
Occupational health standards
Board Reporting, health & well-being
Healthier staff restaurants
H7. Mental Health in the workplace
H8. Young persons’ health at work
H9. Domestic violence
H10. Specific to construction
H5. Smoking cessation/Respiratory health H11. Alcohol
H6. Staff Healthchecks
Public Health Responsibility Deal
Pledge on carers
History :
• A joint DH/Employers for Carers Task and Finish Group
has considered steps to support carers to remain in
paid work.
• It has identified as a key element persuading and
supporting businesses to improve support for carers.
• It believes that an effective step would be to include in
the PHRD a specific pledge on supporting carers.
• The pledge was launched in February 2015, within the
Health at Work Network.
PHRD Pledge on Carers
“We will support our workers with chronic conditions or
caring responsibilities by doing one or both of :
• Embedding the principles of the chronic conditions guides (from the
PHRD’s Health at Work Network) within HR procedures to ensure that
those with chronic conditions at work are managed in the best way
possible with reasonable flexibilities and workplace adjustments.
• Supporting our employees in meeting their employment obligations
and external caring responsibilities in a manner that seeks to protect
and support their own health and wellbeing ….
…. and seeking to promote a workplace culture which is
understanding and supportive of carers in the workforce.
Signing up and showing results
To become a Responsibility Deal partner an organisation:
• signs up to the core commitments & supporting pledges
• signs up to at least one collective pledge or sector pledge (on alcohol,
food, health at work or physical activity), more of course welcome
• registers with the Department of Health online at
http://responsibilitydeal.dh.gsi.gov.uk
Organisations and their pledges, plans, actions and annual updates are listed
on the DH website.
• By April each year, partners submit updates on their progress,
templates are available for all collective pledges.
• Reporting requires just one form for all pledges together, with questions
scaled back in consultation with partners.
• Contact us at [email protected]
Why sign up to the PHRD ?
• It is a public commitment to Health and Wellbeing of the workforce.
• It sends out a positive message about work culture, reputation and
attitude to employees and the workplace; and positive messages to
those who use your services – i.e. the public.
• A fitter, healthier workforce is more
engaged and more productive.
• The Responsibility Deal Network provides updates on developments
in the field of health and work, and enables
sharing of best practice.
• RD events provide networking opportunities.
A Watershed in Life and Work
Change is the law of life.
And those who look only to the past or present
are certain to miss the future.
John F. Kennedy