This Carers’ Rights Day is all about knowing and using your rights as a carer. Read on to learn more about Carers’ Rights from our Carers Staff Network Lead, Tristan.
Do you care? Know your rights, use your rights.
I’ve had a lot of conversations about being a Carer, recently. No matter how often I do, I’m always surprised to learn that people don’t like to class themselves as Carers, even when they’re responsible for looking after someone who needs a lot of support. I’ve said things like “Do you think she would be open to talking about being a Carer?” and “I think he could benefit from some Carers support, but he’s not really open to the idea at the moment”, and it makes me wonder how many other parts of our identities we reject even when we’re struggling with it because “it’s just my life”.
And in many ways, they’d be right. I care for my wife, and the things I do for her are just my life, they’re things I knew I’d be doing when we first got together. But that doesn’t stop it from being challenging at times!
Being a Carer
When it’s pouring with rain, and I’m comfy and warm in front of the fire with my cat, I really don’t want to have to go out and get the wheelchair from the car because it needs charging! But I will, and I do because it’s a thing that my wife can’t do, that she needs so that she can remain independent.
But then there are the funny times, too. Like when we spent the weekend in Newcastle to do all our Christmas shopping, but then we had so many bags that we couldn’t work out how to get them all to the car. So we piled the wheelchair high with bags, my wife pushed the wheelchair clinging onto the bags for dear life, and with a few tight squeezes, we made it to the car in one trip.
Being a Carer brings the highest highs and the lowest lows. It brings tears, from both of us at times! But it brings a sense of pride, and of love, that I didn’t know about until I became a Carer. It has also given me valuable knowledge about our environments and the ways in which they impact people differently. Did you know that not all dropped kerbs are actually flat? Did you know that a place can be entirely step-free and still not wheelchair accessible? Neither did I, until I became a Carer. And now it all makes sense!
Knowing and Using Your Rights
This kind of thing affects thousands of people, every single day. And every single day, over 600 people leave their paid work because they can’t cope with working as well as being a Carer. We’re a demographic of people that the world is only just starting to understand, but we have rights and it’s vital that we know them. If we don’t know them, how can we use them?
For example:
- Did you know that as a Carer, you have the legal right to up to five days’ unpaid leave to provide care? At Touchstone, we believe in supporting our Carers and so we pay these days.
- Did you know that as a Carer, you can ask your GP to identify you as a Carer, which can mean you will get prioritised access to vaccines and other campaigns. But even if you don’t do this, you already have the right to ask for a free flu jab every year.
- Even though Carers aren’t currently a Protected Characteristic under the Equality Act (2010) (we’re working on it, but we’re not there yet!), we are still protected from discrimination and harassment because of our caring responsibilities. You can find out a bit more about this here.
- If you care for someone, you have the right to request a Carer’s assessment. This can give you the chance to talk to someone about what you do, and to get some help and support with this. And who doesn’t want help and support with things that can be challenging?
Being a Carer can be hard, but you’re not alone. Even if you don’t like the word, and don’t want to use it, if you look after someone who couldn’t manage without your help, you have rights.
Do you care? Don’t struggle alone or in silence. It’s Carers’ Rights Day 2025. Know your rights. Use your rights.
