In the UK, there are 10.6 million working caregivers in the UK, juggling their unpaid caring responsibilities alongside their professional role.
At KareHero, we are proud to support working caregivers throughout the entirety of their caregiver journey as they care for a loved one.
The theme for Carers Week 2024 is ‘Putting Carers on the Map,’ and at KareHero, we wanted to highlight the stories of the UK's unsung heroes.
James Mummery has been a working caregiver for 10 years, caring for his father since he was left paralysed from the neck down following an accident.
James is the only family member involved in his dad's care, and as an only child, James says the buck always stops with him. He says: "I've had to go part-time to manage his needs with my ability to retain a personal life. It's been almost 10 years now so it's trying to find a sustainable balance that is manageable."
James's dad has complex care needs, which require full-time care from professional carers; although James doesn't provide day-to-day care for his dad, he is able to support his dad in other ways.
"I am the point of contact and manager for relationships with care agencies, managing all of dad's financing, housing and day-to-day needs. I don't work Fridays so I can take dad out for some time out the house, and we go to Arsenal games when we can get a ticket.
"As dad's got older, and his health needs more complex, I've also had to become increasingly responsible for all health related issues too - liaising with doctors and advocating for his needs. Before, despite his disability, he could manage this himself and so was one less thing I had to think about."
James has been juggling his caregiving role alongside professional duties for a decade. But what does being a working caregiver mean to James?
"It means continuously balancing the needs of my employer with the needs of my dad. Scheduling unmissable hospital appointments with unmissable work deadlines is a continuous balancing act, where you never quite feel everyone (including myself) is fully satisfied with the outcomes."
To be able to care for a loved one, and also fulfil professional duties, it's important to have the support of your employer during your caregiver journey - which James says he has had over the years.
"I've been a working carer for 10 years and I've been lucky that all my employers have been supportive and understanding.
"I am very upfront in job interviews about my responsibilities and what that means. In past year's dad's health and needs have been very stable and easy to balance with work, this year he's had multiple hospital admissions and stays, which has made it a lot harder to keep on top of things."
The likelihood of a person becoming a caregiver for someone they love increases the older we get, but there is no set rule as to who a caregiver may be.
It could be a 20-year-old looking after a grandparent with cancer, a spouse caring for their partner living with dementia, or like James, they may care for and support their dad following a life-changing accident.
Working caregivers juggle their professional role alongside the needs of their family, with many feeling both financial and emotional strain in the process.
This week, and every week, the team at KareHero celebrate working caregivers and their families. Let's put carers on the map together.