End of life carers should have six months paid leave, say experts.

[2greys]

People who look after loved ones nearing the end of their lives should be entitled to up to six months paid time off work and safeguards for their job so they can return to work, according to academics from the University of Sheffield’s School of Nursing and Midwifery.

The experts are seeking to support family caregivers with new research published in Palliative Medicine.

The research has resulted in a new, simple guide which takes the hard work and confusion out of identifying the different types of financial support available for those caring for people approaching the end of life.

sheffield.ac.uk/news/nr/end...

[Bingo88]

Super idea 2greys, Guess they are expecting the employer to foot the bill for 6 months pay. Which can be difficult for small companies. Hope your doing ok . Brian

[2greys in reply to Bingo88]

Yes still doing okay thank you, taking it easy, day 5 of rest after that little stint of work last week. A 2.5 mile walk Sunday lunchtime to visit friends at the pub, a taxi home though as the temp had dropped somewhat in the afternoon, so keeping mobile. My appetite remains good as well. The only real lingering effect from the pneumonia is fatigue and if I'm not busy tend to nod off rather easily.

[Bingo88 in reply to 2greys]

Think we all tend to have 40 winks after lunch Won t do you any harm to take a breather. Glad things are going well

[Hidden]

They would be better to first ensure that everybody has an end of life caregiver. 🙄

[Badbessie]

Sadly my brother died of a rare form of cancer. In the last six months my brothers and I took over his care. We all worked full time but managed somehow to provide 24 hour a day care with help from other organisations. It did take a toll both physically and emotionally but he died at home which was his wish. Personally I think being able to take time off would have helped the situation a great deal.

[HungryHufflepuff in reply to Badbessie]

I'm very sorry to know about your brother. My dad had end of life care at home too. We didn't know it was end of life, just care at home, his passing was sudden and unexpected (to me anyway, maybe I was just deluding myself?) But he absolutely didn't want to go to the hospital and wanted to stay at home. So my mum, my brother and I cared for him at home. Had there been some provision in law that I could take time off work I would have felt I could ask for time off. Now I'm burdened with regret at not having spent more time with my dad, going out instead to my crummy job. Anyone who's cared for a loved one at home knows this is not the easy option compared to going into work. It's draining physically and emotionally. It's hard work. But there should be that option for those who want to do so, without the worry of who's going to cover you at work or if there'd be a job for you to go back to.

[Hidden in reply to Badbessie]

That is a real sad story and you and your brothers did a wonderful job and are to be much admired. You certainly deserved some relief in any way possible.

I assume these ‘experts’ as part of their great works, are developing some kind of a magic money tree to avoid the mass collapse of thousands of employers and the increase in unemployment payments. Being old and confused I’ve probable completely misunderstood the situation. 🤔

[Badbessie in reply to Hidden]

There is no magic money tree. To me it was one of the worst and best times of my life. My father died on the first of October, my daughter was born on the 23rd October, my brother died on 23rd of December. It was an emotional rollercoaster and physically exhausting. The one thing that kept me sane was my daughter.

[Hidden in reply to Badbessie]

You are a warrior Badbessie and did well battling against the odds to retain your sanity .

[Tetrazzini]

I guess the "experts" don't own a small business.

[Izb1]

What a lovely idea, it would certainly have helped me looking after Mum, but you do have to consider a few things like the employer, small employers just cant afford to do this and you then have to consider the other staff, trying to fill in for another person is really hard if your own job is already overloaded, they then resent this, so in theory is a great idea but in practice it just doesnt work, unless the employer can claim this off the goverment and they put up the insurance stamp, its the only way this could work x