I went for a job interview the other day. It's part of a strategy I have to find myself paid employment. The fact that I am a care giver (someone who provides care not as a living but voluntarily and usually to a friend, neighbour or family member) came up. They asked if, should I get the job, there might be a way they could arrange training for me so that I didn’t have to go away and leave my wife with nobody to look after her. They actually wanted to inconvenience themselves just to make my life easier. I was honestly flabbergasted.

I've had a few employers and as far as I could tell none of them had a carers policy. When I go for a job one of my major worries is whether or not they will accept me having to rearrange my rota to incorporate going to medical appointments. How would they react if I suddenly had to leave the premises unexpectedly because my wife had collapsed or been hospitalised? It’s a major worry and it would be a real reassurance to know that my potential boss had a formal company policy to adhere to. A couple of times in interviews I had tried asking if they had a carers policy. They didn’t really seem to know what I was talking about and I tended to leave the interview worrying that I had torpedoed my chances.

Recently I’d been hearing a lot about individuals making big changes to the world. In the UK I had heard about Gina Miller, who managed to get so-called 'upskirting' made a criminal offence. I'd read about Amika George, the teenager who had successfully campaigned to get free sanitary products offered to girls in schools to challenge what she called period poverty.

I don’t really image I can affect a change that substantial, because frankly I'm too disorganised and lazy. But I can have a go. So I decided I would start asking companies if they had carers policies for their staff. I've started with Co-op, because I am a member, and because their staff are always very pleasant. I have just dropped them an email to ask the question. I don’t know what the answer is going to be. If they have, great. Well done co-op. If not, I shall try to badger them into writing one, and see if I encourage others to do the same. If that works, I'll have a go with somebody else.

Wish me luck.

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benjaminpmoore

06.05.19 Front Page

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