CARERS UK SAYS 1,500 WORKERS QUIT JOBS DAILY TO GIVE UNPAID CARE

Carers UK has estimated that more than 1,500 workers across the UK resign every day to care for a loved one, describing the situation as "deeply worrying". The estimate is based on polling the charity commissioned from Opinium, which surveyed 4,000 UK adults online in July. Prime Minister Andy Burnham has said caring for a relative without adequate support can "break people". Carers UK said the daily total has risen sharply from an estimated 600 a day in 2019, with around 1.1 million people leaving work to care for someone in the past two years alone.

The survey found 20% of workers now juggle paid jobs with unpaid caring, up from 15% in 2019. It found 6% had given up work entirely to care for an older, disabled or seriously ill family member or friend, compared with 5% in 2019. Among those who quit to care, 34% did so in the previous two years, up from 18% previously. Carers UK said one in five UK adults, an estimated 11 million people, now provide unpaid care, up from 8.8 million in 2019, with about 3.33 million having left work to care.

Carers UK said pressures on unpaid carers have intensified, with growing numbers reaching a point where balancing work and care is "no longer sustainable". The charity has long called for a statutory right to paid leave for carers, saying current support "does not reflect the realities of caring". A legal entitlement to unpaid leave for carers took effect in England, Wales and Scotland in April 2024, giving carers of a dependant up to a week of leave a year. The Government launched a consultation in June proposing paid carer's leave.