Steps to becoming Carer Positive
In Activity 5.1 you will draw up an action plan based on the Carer Positive criteria. You will also think about where you and/or your organisation are trying to get to, and within what sort of timescale.
Before you write your action plan you might like to look at an example to help you identify the steps you could take to support carers in your workplace.
| My long-term goal | |||
| To contribute effectively to developing and embedding a culture of support for carers within my department and the organisation as a whole. | |||
| Carer Positive criteria | What I am going to do | Where I will go for help or advice | When I will do this |
Identification of carers: There is clarity around what is meant by the term ‘carer’ A system is in place to enable carers to identify themselves (if they choose to) | Ensure that I am aware of existing systems in place to enable carers to identify themselves and that it is clear what we mean by the term ‘carer’ If no system is currently in place I need to investigate ways of progressing this Arrange a meeting with the senior management team (SMT) to discuss ways of identifying carers | Speak to the HR department or someone with responsibility for personnel issues This may need to be raised at a senior management level | I can do this quickly – within the week I will ask for this to go on the agenda for the next SMT meeting |
Policy: Carers are recognised within existing organisation/HR policies Where no policies exist there is a statement which makes specific reference to supporting carers within the organisation There is knowledge of and adherence to the minimum statutory employment rights for working carers | Ensure that I am fully aware of the statutory employment rights that affect carers and understand how carers are supported within the existing policies of the organisation If existing policies need to be updated or amended to include a carers section or statement, raise this with HR/senior management | Speak to the HR department or someone with responsibility for personnel issues As above | Within the week Next SMT meeting |
Workplace support: Information on external forms of support and services for carers is available Options for carers to benefit from additional practical support in the workplace are identified | I will ensure that information on local support services and carers centres is available for staff to access I will identify some practical actions that will help carers feel more supported in the workplace | Get advice from local carers centres about this Speak to employees who are carers to ask what might be helpful Source additional information from relevant websites and support services | I will phone Carers Scotland on Tuesday Raise at the next staff team meeting |
Communication, awareness raising and training: Policies and available workplace support is communicated to all levels of/members of staff | In the first place, I will ask staff if they are aware of the policies and support currently in place for carers I will review current methods of communication and identify the scope to develop these | Speak to employees who are carers Speak to HR | Raise at the next staff team meeting Raise at the next SMT |
Peer support: Carers are supported to engage with other carers | Consider the scope to develop/promote an appropriate form of peer support Where workplace-based peer support is not appropriate, ensure that carers are signposted to external peer support (source contact details of local support groups or online forums) | Speak to employees who are carers and HR about how this could be progressed Get advice from local carers centres about this | Raise this within the next cycle of staff reviews |
| The first step I am going to take will be to… | |||
| Phone HR this afternoon and make an appointment to talk to someone about existing policies, procedures and support for carers. | |||
Examples of the specific types of support that might be developed within an organisation are detailed in the Carer Positive application forms [Tip: hold Ctrl and click a link to open it in a new tab. (Hide tip)] that are available on their website. (Remember, you are not required to apply for the award but looking at the examples on the application forms might help with Activity 5.1.)
Stepping stones and my action plan