Amongst all the political upheaval of the past few months it has been good to see Andrew Marr well and truly back in the thick of it.
After suffering from a stroke which hospitalised him for two months, the political commentator was cared for by his wife is wife Jackie Ashley, a journalist, who became his full–time carer during his recovery.
When Marr bravely eased himself back to work late last year he criticised the lack of support offered to the more than three million carers in the UK who are trying to juggle their jobs with the physically and emotionally draining task of looking after sick or infirm loved ones.
Marr suggested that employees caring for sick or elderly relatives should be given the same rights as new mothers or be allowed to reduce their working hours and also highlighted an interesting idea that has come from the Institute for Public Policy Research which is the adoption of a German policy, called Familienpflegezeit (family caring time).
“In Germany, employees can reduce their working hours to a minimum of 15 hours a week for up to two years if they have caring responsibilities,” Marr said.
“That way, job security and flexibility are built in for the employee and the employer.”
At the time Marr spoke out after Jeremy Hunt, the Health Secretary, said that workers who care for elderly patients should be allowed to choose their own working hours.
Mr Hunt accused employers of failing to do enough to help the hundreds of thousands of people who are struggling to balance work and care commitments, warning that it would cripple the economy if large numbers of experienced employees had to give up work to look after relatives.
He said it was essential businesses change their attitude to carers because of Britain’s rapidly aging population and a looming “dementia time bomb”.
Marr and his wife said that since his stroke, they had been inundated with letters and emails from carers who were struggling to keep their heads above water.
“It is an unregarded, forgotten army whom the state could never replace."
As part of the solution to this complex problem we want to help build a free database of people wanting to share their job while they need to perform crucial caring duties.
If you know someone in this situation please tell them about www.shareyourjob.com and together we can make job sharing a reality for those who need it most.
