The photograph above shows Jill Rundle, the Carers Passport Coordinator for the Fund and myself meeting the Minister for Health Michael McGimpsey at a recent Carers Convention held in Castle Buildings Belfast. The Minister was very interested in the work of the Fund and seemed particularly interested in the work we do with Carers.
There are growing numbers of people approaching the Fund for help with their caring duties. Research carried out on behalf of Carer's Week shows that over 6 million people across the UK are carers, of which half will be juggling their caring responsibilities with their work. Based on that research, we estimate that there could be as many as 30,000 civil servants in this position in all of the UK.
What Will Carer's Passport Do?
Carer’s Passport is designed to provide them, and their line managers, with a full set of information about their needs in the workplace and to identify solutions to those needs, whether financial or otherwise. Ideally, the passport will stay with the employee should they be transferred across the department, would be available to any new line manager so they can instantly see their responsibilities, and any solutions previously agreed between the employee and their former manager.
How Does Someone Apply?
Anyone wanting to know more about Carer's Passport, particularly to see if it's something they might qualify for, should e-mail Jill Rundle, Carer's Passport Project Manager. We've seen plenty of examples where applicants to the Fund could have benefitted from Carer's Passport.
In my own experience of individuals in Northern Ireland who have spoken with Jill and received their Carers Passport, there is a real sense of support and relief, knowing that they now have tangible recognition of the work they do and 'something to show' if anyone wants to discuss their situation. In some cases, individuals may never have shared their home responsiblities with anyone at work and the Carers Passport may give them the voice to do so. Please don't hesitate to contact us if you think you would benefit from talking about this great scheme.
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And if you want to see more about what Carer's Passport does, visit http://www.csbf.org.uk/help_and_advice/our_services/carers_passport. It's great that this vital initiative is getting some major support in Northern Ireland.
Thanks Jamie, I had some trouble with links in this post for some reason, so I really appreciate you adding this
As a Rep for the Fund myself, a carer and advertised out about Carers week, I find I need a passport myself due to the intolerance, harassment and lack of any awareness of carers needs in my own workplace. I hope the passport does what it says on the tin, for me... and for those I been promoting it to. As a DWP worker I find 'I' have to find the information out as my managers who 'ARE' DWP don't actually know anything about carers. Poor examples I'm afraid, when we should be leading by example. I hope the passport finally educates those who claim to support it. I have raised so many complaints and had so many meetings in work due to my caring responsibilities, this may finally stop all this and make others realise caring is a full time job in itself and working carers are still 'carers' and we do need a break, help or proper knowledgable advise at times.
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