Hundreds of Britons quitting jobs every day to look after loved ones

Hundreds of people in Britain are quitting their jobs each day to look after a loved one, according to a new report.  

Charity Carers UK estimates that more than 1,500 workers are becoming unpaid carers, in what it describes as a "deeply worrying" situation.

Its latest survey found that 6% of respondents said they had left their job to care for a family member or friend who is older, disabled or seriously ill, while one in five workers were having to balance work alongside being an unpaid carer - up from 15% in 2019.

Of those who had quit their jobs completely, a third - 34% - had done so in the previous two years, compared with 18% in 2019.

One in five UK adults providing unpaid care equates to an estimated 11 million people, Carers UK said, while the proportion leaving work to care equates to an estimated 3.33 million people, with more than one million doing so in the past two years.

The charity said this equates to more than 1,500 people a day - up from around 600 a day in 2019.

"The direction of travel is clear," the charity's report said.

"The pressures facing unpaid carers have intensified significantly in recent years, with more people reaching a point where balancing work and care is no longer sustainable."

Findings 'should concern us all'

Emily Holzhausen, director of policy and public affairs at Carers UK, said the numbers were "deeply worrying", citing the Department for Business and Trade which estimates the economic cost of carers leaving paid work to be £37bn a year.

Ms Holzhausen added: "The sizeable impact of caring responsibilities on peoples' working lives should concern us all, because when people are forced to leave work to care employers lose valuable skills and there are wider implications."

Prime Minister Andy Burnham has previously stated that caring for a loved one without adequate support can and does "break people".

Speaking in July, Mr Burnham, whose father died on Monday after suffering from Alzheimer's, said he could "certainly attest from family experience that it's too hard for the family carers" and that the issue "needs to be recognised".

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In June, a government consultation was launched with a proposal to introduce paid carer's leave, as well as new guidance for workers and employers on protections carers have in the workplace.

A legal entitlement to unpaid leave for carers came into effect for England, Wales and Scotland in April 2024, giving employees who are carers for a dependant an entitlement of up to a week of unpaid leave every 12 months.

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