State of Caring Carers UK State of Caring 2017 Report | Page 23

STATE OF CARING REPORT 2017
I am totally worn out trying to
balance work and care for my
disabled daughter and family
I had to leave a senior job in industry
at the age of 50 and have found it
difficult to find a senior part time job
for a woman resulting in my earnings
dropping drastically and putting me
under financial pressure
I would *love* to be in paid work, even
part time. I gave up a well paid career
to look after my son. This has led to
significant financial difficulties. I’d love
more support to enable me to work
My employer forced me to choose
between taking on a permanent
senior role or being perceived as not
committed to the company and end
my contract. I chose my mum. The
financial suffering has been huge but
I have some precious time with my
mum who is late mid dementia, times
I would have never had if I had chosen
my career. But why should I have to
choose? I saw young mothers at work
given privileges I just wasn’t allowed
I do agency work instead of having
a contract which gives me more
flexibility but means I get no sick pay,
pension contributions or professional
training plus very limited holiday pay
We just try our best to live on what
we have but it is very hard as we are
always in arrears. The National Debtline
has been great in helping us cope
I ended up with burnout as I was trying
to deliver my caring role and work 50+
hours a week
I cannot afford hobbies or leisure
activities and rarely see family or friends
I work a full day, but with adjusted
hours to accommodate my caring role.
I also use my annual leave entitlement
on care related things such as medical
appointments, organising care,
covering shortfalls in care. I usually
have to ask for several extra unpaid
days when annual leave runs out each
year. On occasions this unpaid leave
has affected my pension entitlement
I have ended up owing time and
using unpaid leave due to having so
much time off work this year
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