What is Carers Rights Day?
Carers Rights Day is a national campaign led by Carers UK to highlight, inform and support carers to understand and utilise their rights. Carers need to know their rights wherever they are in their caring journey: whether they are in the workplace, in a healthcare setting, when interacting with professionals or at home.
This Carers Rights Day, we are supporting the Carers UK campaign to empower local carers with information and support, so they can feel confident asking for what they need. We also want carers to know how to challenge things when their rights are not being met and who can support them to do this.
It takes time to see yourself as a carer and even longer to recognise you have certain rights. However, it’s important to know your rights in order to access support that may be essential to maintaining your own health, wellbeing and work-life balance.
How are we supporting the #knowyourrights campaign?
Due to Covid-19 restrictions, this campaign (like the others shared throughout the year) will have a significant presence online. This page has been created to pull information together to showcase carers rights and highlight local and national organisations and groups who are able to provide further information, advice, guidance and support.
To help local carers know their rights we are:
- Encouraging local carers to visit our Carers Rights page which highlights key carers rights and signposting to support.
- Teaming up with Middlesbrough Citizens Advice Bureau to explain how CAB can help local carers to understand and utilise their rights.
- Sharing information on our Facebook page to help carers know their rights.
- Supporting Middlesbrough & Stockton Mind's Carers and Families Well-Being Service coffee morning by providing our handy carers guides and useful information to each carer that attends as well as sharing the information video created by Middlesbrough CAB to play during the coffee morning.
- Promote new Carers UK research: Unseen and Undervalued which shows that unpaid carers save UK state £530 million every day of the pandemic.
- Encouraging local carers to participate in local activities in support of Carers Rights Day:
- Middlesbrough & Stockton Mind Carers and Families Well-Being Service Carers Rights Day coffee morning. Date: Thursday 26 November. Time: 9.30- 11:30am. Venue: The Mind Centre, 90-92 Lothian Road, Middlesbrough, TS4 2QX. Places must be booked in advance! Contact Shazana or Renee, 01642 257020 or e-mail: carers@middlesbroughandstocktonmind.org.uk
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Carers Together's Carers Rights Question and Answer session. Date: Thursday 26th November. Time: 11-12noon. Venue: Online. Book your place by contacting the team on 01642 488977. Questions can be asked during the session or you can email them in advance to info@carerstogether-rc.org.uk and we’ll do our best to answer them.
- Directing carers to Carers UK's Looking after someone guide:
What are Carers Rights?
Since the implementation of the Care Act in 2015, carers have more rights than ever before. The Act gave carers parity with the people they care for through new entitlements to an assessment of their needs, support to meet their eligible needs, and information and advice.
We have outlined some of the key carers' rights:
- All carers 18+ have the right to an assessment which seeks to identify what may make your life easier and minimise any adverse impacts your caring role may have on your own wellbeing.
- Young carers (carers under 18) can access an assessment from Middlesbrough Council if the young carer and the person they care for both agree. The Council can assess the needs of the young carer and the needs of the person being cared for at the same time.
- Carers have the right to request flexible working if they are a parent carer of the person being cared for lives with the carer.
- Carers have the right to take unpaid time off work for dependants in an emergency.
- Carers and disabled people have the right not to be discriminated against or harassed under the Equality Act. Carers have the right not to be discriminated against as a result of their caring role and “association” with a disabled person.
Who can help me?
Middlesbrough Citizens Advice Bureau
Middlesbrough CAB can provide advice and assistance with a range of issues that may affect you as a carer. These include:
- Welfare Benefits. We have a team of benefits advisers who can check your benefit entitlement and provide help with completing application forms. If your application is unsuccessful, we can help to challenge the DWP decision.
- Debt. We can help you to manage your debt. We do this by helping to maximise your income and reduce your expenditure to levels you can afford.
- Employment. An employment expert can provide advice about your rights at work as a carer, including issues of discrimination. The adviser can help with claims if you need to take your employer to an employment tribunal.
- Energy. We can help look at ways of reducing your expenditure on energy and check if you are eligible for any energy support schemes.
Although at this time face to face services are closed, you can get in touch with the team by ringing 01642 802282 or by going to our website, www.mcab.org.uk and completing the enquiry form.
Download the Citizens Advice help and support information for carers:
Carers Together
Carers Together offer friendly and confidential services that aim to ease the pressure of caring. The team are on hand to help carers with any issues they may face, including benefits, health problems, housing, training, employment, taking a break from caring or concerns about the person they care for.
Support available includes:
- Carers Information and Support service
- Carers Assessments
- Support for carers of patients in hospitals
- A Welfare Rights service
- A Counselling service
- Information and support for working carers and employers
- Carers Card Scheme
- Training for Carers
Contact the team. Tel: 01642 488977 Email: info@carerstogether-rc.org.uk
Download Carers Together's leaflet:
The Junction Foundation
Making Life better for young carers, young adult carers and their families
The Junction works to support, young carers, young adult carers and their families through:
- One to one support,
- Counselling
- Group work and social activities to build skills, peer networks friendships, confidence and self-belief
- Whole family support.
Contact the team. Tel: 01642 756000 Email: info@thejunctionfoundation.com
Carers UK
The Carers UK telephone helpline is available on 0808 808 7777 from Monday to Friday, 9 am – 6 pm or you can contact them by email advice@carersuk.org
Carers UK provides information and guidance to unpaid carers. This covers a range of subjects including:
- Benefits and financial support
- Your rights as a carer in the workplace
- Carers' assessments and how to get support in your caring role
- Services available to carers and the people you care for
- How to complain effectively and challenge decisions
Carers UK has produced this free, downloadable, guide for carers: