Fair Work: action plan

18. Unpaid Carers

One in seven Scots are unpaid carers. Many carers give up work because the job of juggling their work and caring responsibilities simply becomes too much. Supporting carers to manage this difficult balance can deliver real benefits to employers as well as helping individuals and their families.

We have established the Carer Positive employer accreditation scheme for employers with flexible employment policies for staff who are also unpaid carers. Over 330,000 employees in Scotland are now working in 135 Carer Positive organisations. We will work to increase employer awareness of the scheme and the number of employers signed up.

We will commission an independent review of Carer Positive to inform future decisions about how the scheme is run and its long-term strategy. The review will focus on ensuring that Carer Positive is reaching a wider range of employers and positively impacting on more carers.