Working With Diversity, Northern Ireland Section 75 Equality Scheme Advice

Background

People with personal or primary responsibility for the care of:

Someone with a disability

Persons with primary responsibility for the care of a dependant elderly person.

Facts and Statistics - Caring for elderly and infirm relatives

A group which is of growing concern is those who care for the elderly, sick or disabled relatives or others. As the population ages and people live longer, a greater proportion of the working population are likely to have sick or elderly relatives, or others who are dependent on them in some way. These are another group which will have particular needs in balancing their work and domestic responsibilities.

The 2000 Work-Life Balance Baseline Study (Hogarth et al; 2001) provides some information on this group. The employee survey found that

15% of female employees had some form of caring responsibility compared to 11% of men.

Around 12% of women, compared with 10% of men, had taken time off work to look after people other than children.

Carers are from a wide range of ages, but more commonly aged 45 or above (34% of carers were aged 45-54 and 13% 55 or above). The main regular source of data on carers is in the Family Resources Survey (FRS) and this shows similar patterns.

The 1999/2000 FRS shows that 9% of the population were providing care - 10% of women and 7% of men.

Who Are They ?

Carers are highly committed and responsible members of our Community.

Around 250,000 people in Northern Ireland are carers.

Around 24,000 local people (in Belfast area) described themselves as carers in the recent Census returns.

9,000 of these people provided over 20hours of care per week.

Carers look after relatives or friends who are unable to manage at home without help, due to disability, illness, or frailty in old age.

65% of carers admit that their own health has suffered. Many are pensioners themselves.

There are also children taking on levels of caring responsibility.

Caring for someone can be physically, emotionally and financially draining.

Carers often feel isolated, unsupported and alone.

The burden of care falls largely on women. The impact of caring on employment is more severe for women than men.
(Source: A Carers Manifesto for Northern Ireland Carers National Association N.I.)

Household Member	Women %	Men %	Total %
Parent	8	6	7
Parent/Spouse/Cohabitee	15	23	18
Brother/Sister	5	7	6
Other Relative	1	2	1
Non-household Member	-	1	1
Relative	40	36	39
Friend/Neighbour	9	7	8
Client of Voluntary Organisation	11	8	10
Other Non-household member	1	1	1
More than one person cared for	7	8	8

(Source: Women and Equality Unit Department of Trade & Industry)

The table illustrates who these carers are caring for. The majority of women and men are looking after a relative who is not a member of their household. This is most probably, elderly parents who live separately from their offspring. The second most common group of people cared for is partner/Spouse/cohabitee, although this involves a greater proportion of men than women carers.

The employment status of informal carers varies considerably. While male carers are more likely than female carers to be in full-time employment, a higher proportion of male carers are retired than is true of the adult male population as a whole. This fits with their looking after a spouse/partner. Female carers are less likely to be in full-time employment and more likely to be 'other inactive' than is the case among the adult female population.