Carers and employment

In this section:

Whether you need support in your current job, help finding a job or want to take your career to the next level with training and education, support is available.

Employment and skills support for carers

Our Employment and Skills Team can support you on your journey of finding a job, including:

  • support with job searches
  • help building the skills for work
  • explore training and learning opportunities
  • give access to our network of local employers
  • offer wellbeing support to ease your transition into work, balancing work and personal life as a carer

For young carers, we offer guidance for career pathways such as apprenticeships to help you plan your best next steps as a carer.

Contact the team by email: employmentteam@solihull.gov.uk or phone: 0121 704 6869 to find out more.

Getting support at work if you are a carer

As a carer you have statutory rights, which your employer must follow. These include:

  • considering your right to request flexible working after 26 weeks of employment (such as changing your hours or working from home)
  • allowing you to take emergency leave (for example, to deal with care arrangements breaking down)
  • allowing you to take parental leave (if you have one year's continuous service and are responsible for a child five years old or under (or under 18 if receiving Disability Living Allowance)

Career development, training, and learning

From taking short evening courses to studying for a degree, learning something new is a great way for carers to take their careers to the next level.

If you are in work, having a chat with your employer about what opportunities they can help with is a good place to start. Many companies have schemes in place to help their staff develop within their organisation for example.

If you are continuing your role as a carer and want to combine it with work, discussing your options with Carers Trust Solihull is a sensible place to start. You should also consider what:

  • new skills you want to learn
  • existing skills you want to develop
  • place of learning you want to attend (university, adult education centre, college etc)
  • length of time you want to commit to
  • your goals and ambitions are

It is important to note that your carer benefits may be affected if you do enter education, so it is important to get the right advice.

Useful links

If you need support or advice in finding employment as a carer, you can: