Renfrewshire Council

A working carer is an employee who provides unpaid care for someone who is frail, seriously ill or has a disability. This can include:

• emotional support
• practical support, such as managing hospital appointments
• help with household tasks or shopping
• managing finances
• personal care
• medical care.

You may not realise that you are a carer. You could be:

• sharing caring responsibilities for someone with your partner or other family members
• travelling to provide care for a family member before or after work, or at weekends
• caring for someone in your own home.

The impact of caring for someone

Caring can have an impact on someone's life such as:

• getting a night's sleep
• staying healthy
• maintaining relationships with friends and family
• holding down your job
• having a life outside of caring.

Carers often face lots of challenges, including:

• stress and anxiety, emotional ups and downs, or feeling isolated
• physical strain
• worrying about taking time off
• lack of information or support, or knowing where support is available
• not having anyone to turn to at work
• performance issues at work or turning down promotional opportunities
• not having a break from caring
• not being able to juggle work and caring anymore
• the stigma of being a carer.

Self-care

The Carers Trust website has health and wellbeing advice for you and the person you care for about:

• equipment, adaptations and telecare
• pharmacies and medicines
• relationships with your partner, family and friends
• tackling loneliness
• emergencies
• guidance on coronavirus
• taking care of yourself
• when caring ends.

You can also find out about

• what support you can get at work
• what support you can get locally and nationally.

We also have .