Macmillan, Help us make a difference for working carers

[HAIRBEAR_UK]

This week is Carers Week. It’s an opportunity to celebrate the vital contribution made by people looking after a loved one who is ill, frail or disabled. But it is also a reminder of the strain that caring for somebody can cause.

More than a million people in the UK care for a friend or family member with cancer. And almost half of them face the challenge of combining work with their caring responsibilities.

This Carers Week I’d like your help to spread the word about the employment rights of carers, campaigns.macmillan.org.uk/... rights which can make a huge difference. Take Kat. She works full time while looking after her mum who has cancer. Flexible working arrangements have helped her to better manage her work and caring responsibilities. But less than 20% of carers are aware they have the right to request flexible working.

Read Kat’s story whocares.macmillan.org.uk/

You can help by emailing your friends and family and passing on the message about carers’ rights campaigns.macmillan.org.uk/... . With your help we can make sure that access to information and support is one less challenge carers have to face.

Read more about Carers Week and find out how you can get involved

Carers Week carersweek.org/ is organised by eight leading charities, including Macmillan, to highlight and celebrate the contribution made by the UK's six million carers.

Today’s theme is about caring and the impact on relationships. A recent report carersweek.org/about-carers... found that two out of five (42 percent) carers had had a breakdown in a relationship with a family member. Find more information and support about relationships macmillan.org.uk/Cancerinfo... .

We also have more information about how we can help in other ways.

On this page macmillan.org.uk/Cancerinfo...

Do you look after someone with cancer?

Carers Week 2013

A taster of Carers Week activities from 2012

Carers Week Report 2013

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