Workers with care responsibilities
The interactions between employment and caring are becoming increasingly important in the face of demographic ageing in Europe. Sustainability of long-term care systems requires an extensive contribution from informal carers, while labour market requirements and contemporary lifestyles and aspirations encourage increased participation of women - the traditional providers of the larger share of informal care - in the labour force.
Already, a sizeable proportion of the workforce (both men and women) must balance their paid employment with caring responsibilities, and vice versa, and this looks set to increase considerably over the coming years. An added factor is the expectation of a longer working life as retirement ages seem set to rise across the EU. A multipronged approach is needed to address the challenges in this area, including:
- suitably organised community and homecare services to support dependent persons and their working carers
- income support and other flexicurity measures
- rights and regulations in the employment field
- practical measures that can be implemented by employers
During 2009-2010 case study research took place in 11 Member States to examine company initiatives that support workers with dependant-care responsibilities. Some 50 case studies were collected and made available in a Eurofound searchable database.
A first report presenting an overview of the context and field of practice in this area was published in 2010. It is intended to serve both as a standalone output and as a companion document to help contextualise a series of detailed case studies of company-level initiatives in four countries (Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands and the UK). A consolidated report is now available.