This Carers Week, Mims Davies MP encourages everyone to recognise the thousands of unpaid carers, without whom our health and care system simply wouldn’t survive.
Mims Davies, the Member of Parliament for Mid Sussex has paid tribute to the hard work of thousands of carers during ahead of Carers Week 2023.
Last year, Mims was proud to support The Carer’s Leave Act. First introduced by Wendy Chamberlain MP, the Act introduced a new and highly flexible entitlement of one week’s unpaid leave per year for employees who are providing or arranging care.
As such, Carer’s Leave is now available to eligible employees from the first day of their employment, meaning unpaid carers will be supported regardless of how long they’ve worked with their employer. Staff will be able to take the leave flexibly to suit their caring responsibilities and will not need to provide evidence of how the leave is used or who it will be used for, ensuring a smoother process for both businesses and their employees.
This Act provides dedicated new employment rights to millions of carers for the very first time, helping them to balance remaining in employment and to be better supported in the crucial caring role they play. As a former vice chair of the APPG, and due to her long-standing support of Carer’s UK, Mims was proud to support this legislation from the beginning.
You can read more about the Carer's Leave Act here.
Commenting, the Member of Parliament for Mid Sussex, Mims Davies said:
The work carers do in our communities is so vital and I’m proud to support them and all their hard work and the hard work of Carers UK. There are many resources available to carers which are outlined below. As a former carer and someone whose family were affected by disablement and very long-term illness, I truly understand the challenges family carers can face trying to juggle unpaid care alongside balancing paid employment.
Carers UK estimate over 10,000 people in Mid Sussex provide some form of unpaid care on a regular basis. I hope the resources below are helpful to those who are looking for more support at the moment.
Constituents can access the following resources from Carers UK:
- Detailed advice pages for all unpaid carers, on Carers UK’s website.
- Email advice line (advice@carersuk.org) and a telephone Helpline service (0808 808 7777). Note: Helpline hours have been extended to 9am to 6pm, Monday to Friday, to help carers access information at this time.
- An online forum – run by carers, for carers – full of tips and information where carers have been supporting each other.
- A local directory for carers, with details of local carers organisations and local authority support.
- If you have any specific queries, please do not hesitate to contact my office and we will be more than happy to raise these on your behalf.
