Sainsbury’s claims to be the first UK retailer to work with carers’ organisations in order to develop flexible working policies targeted at staff with caring responsibilities.
The supermarket chain has joined the Leadership Group of membership body Employers for Carers, which is chaired by BT and supported with expertise from charity Carers UK. Sainsbury’s intends to tap into Carers UK’s expertise to ensure that its managers have access to the materials they require to recognise and accommodate carers’ needs more effectively.
Gwyn Burr, Sainsbury’s customer service and colleague director, said: “We recognise that many of our colleagues having caring responsibilities and that this has been increasing steadily over recent years. It’s an important issue for our colleagues and we want to support them.”
The latest research from Carers UK indicates that about one in eight adults in the UK have a caring role, which equates to around one in seven in any given workplace. In Sainsbury’s case, this means that more than 20,000 of its 150,000 employees are likely to have caring responsibilities.
Madeleine Starr, head of policy development at Carers UK, said: “Carers UK has been working with employers for many years to help them retain and support their staff, resulting in demonstrable business benefits.”
Supporting carers in the workplace was not just about helping employees to manage their daily lives better, but was also about helping employers retain talent and ensure staff remained healthy and productive, she added.
