Employed carers and family-friendly employment policies

Description

Employers are placing increasing significance on human resources policies designed to enable their employees to achieve an improved work-life balance. This report outlines how employees and managers in three sectors - banking, grocery retail and local authorities - have experienced the "family-friendly employment" options available in their place of work. The research illustrates individual experiences of family-friendly employment policies in similar workplaces in two contrasting localities: East Kent and South Yorkshire. It also looks at workplace experiences in the context of the local services available to support employees with caring responsibilities. The report presents key findings in relation to: how aware employees are of the family-friendly policies of their employers; what links, if any, employers have with local care service providers; how well managers understand the policies; and what barriers there are to imple mentation of family-friendly policies. The report should be of interest to human resources managers, trade unions, policymakers in government, employers' organizations, and to researchers and social scientists interested in the relationship between work and family life.

Sue Yeandle is Professor of Sociology in the Centre for Regional Economic and Social Research at Sheffield Hallam University. Rosemary Compton is Professor of Sociology at City University, London Andrea Wigfield is currently researching employment issues at the University of Sheffield. Jane Dennett was formerly a researcher at City University.