Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
    • Advertise
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Equality, diversity and inclusion
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • XpertHR
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Pricing
    • Free trial
    • Subscribe
    • XpertHR USA
  • Webinars
  • OHW+

Personnel Today

Register
Log in
Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
    • Advertise
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Equality, diversity and inclusion
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • XpertHR
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Pricing
    • Free trial
    • Subscribe
    • XpertHR USA
  • Webinars
  • OHW+

Flexible workingRecruitment & retention

Carers just as likely to look after relatives and partners as children, CIPD survey reveals

by Louisa Peacock 18 Mar 2010
by Louisa Peacock 18 Mar 2010

Workers are as likely to have caring responsibilities for a partner, relative or friend as they are for children, a CIPD survey has revealed.

One-third of employees have some caring duties, with 20% citing children as the largest responsibility, the study of 2,000 employees by the Chartered Institute for Personnel and Development (CIPD) has found. But 12% said looking after relatives was their largest caring responsibility, while 6% named their partner and 2% a friend.

The survey also shows there was little difference between the sexes in their caring responsibilities, with 36% of women citing caring responsibilities and 33% of men.

Ben Willmott, CIPD senior public policy adviser, said: “The survey highlights the challenges many employees have in managing what are often a range of caring responsibilities. The proportion of people having to balance work while caring for their partner or spouse, parents, and other relatives will increase as life expectancy continues to rise and as people work longer to save for retirement.”

The CIPD repeated calls for the right to request flexible working to be extended to all employees, rather than just parents, by 2013.

“This is not about employers putting the interests of employees before the business, it is just about them seriously considering whether they can accommodate flexible working requests to recruit and retain a diverse workforce,” he said.

Willmott warned that employers which don’t provide flexible working options for working parents risk losing valuable employees.

“Employees with other caring responsibilities, such as ageing or sick parents and partners, will increasingly expect the same sort of work-life balance opportunities as working parents,” he said.

Of those with childcare responsibilities, 72% of mothers and 43% of fathers have changed how or where they work to accommodate caring for children.

Of these, the survey found:



  • 31% of parents have worked flexibly
  • 28% have worked shorter hours
  • 23% have worked from home
  • 16% have changed their jobs to become a more active parent.

Avatar
Louisa Peacock

previous post
Young unemployed must be helped by employers to become job-ready, skills chief warns
next post
NHS must show pay restraint to save jobs, HR chief Clare Chapman warns

You may also like

BNP Paribas monitors staff office attendance

29 Sep 2023

Prison Service launches TV recruitment campaign

28 Sep 2023

Prison officers lured by Border Force posts

28 Sep 2023

Childcare costs rocket by £200 per week, claims...

28 Sep 2023

Keeping up with global regulations foxes HR

27 Sep 2023

Ralph Lauren stylist ‘traumatised’ by racial comments

26 Sep 2023

One in four over 50s working part-time

25 Sep 2023

Managing the risks of ‘working from anywhere’ requests...

22 Sep 2023

Leavesden studios expansion to create 4,000 jobs

22 Sep 2023

How to retain key talent using the power...

22 Sep 2023

  • Discover the value of CIPD accreditation PROMOTED | See how the CIPD can increase your earning potential...Read more
  • What does it mean to be an HR professional in 2024? (survey) PROMOTED | The world of HR is changing rapidly...Read more
  • The Contractor Management Mastery Pack: Everything you need to manage and pay global contractors PROMOTED | Answers to cross-border...Read more

Personnel Today Jobs
 

Search Jobs

PERSONNEL TODAY

About us
Contact us
Browse all HR topics
Email newsletters
Content feeds
Cookies policy
Privacy policy
Terms and conditions

JOBS

Personnel Today Jobs
Post a job
Why advertise with us?

EVENTS & PRODUCTS

The Personnel Today Awards
The RAD Awards
Employee Benefits
Forum for Expatriate Management
OHW+
Whatmedia

ADVERTISING & PR

Advertising opportunities
Features list 2023

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Linkedin


© 2011 - 2023 DVV Media International Ltd

Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
    • Advertise
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Equality, diversity and inclusion
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • XpertHR
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Pricing
    • Free trial
    • Subscribe
    • XpertHR USA
  • Webinars
  • OHW+