For organisations
Parent Carers & the Workplace
Putting the care into career.
Many of your most capable people are quietly balancing a demanding role with a child’s additional needs. With the right understanding and support, they stay, contribute and progress. Without it, you lose them.
Why this is personal
I’ve lived this too
As the parent of a son with ASD and ADHD, I spent eight years, from age three to eleven, navigating the SEN system, securing his diagnosis, his EHCP, and ultimately a specialist school place that was right for him, all while building a career. I know first-hand what it takes to advocate for your child, hold down a demanding role, and keep going when the system makes neither easy. I’m an advocate for parents and carers first, but as a qualified coach, I also recognise the position organisations are in, and I want to help you get this right: raising awareness and equipping your leaders to support the growing number of carers in your workforce.
Why it matters
An estimated one in three working parents provides some level of additional care for a child. It affects attendance, progression, retention and wellbeing, and it is largely invisible in most workplace policies.
The best employers understand that their people don’t just work 9–5. When organisations support working parent carers, they unlock talent, build loyalty and create more inclusive, high-performing teams.
A problem most organisations can’t see
Nationally, the picture is stark, and parent carers quietly managing a child’s additional needs alongside their job are part of this same, largely hidden workforce.
1,500
people a day quit work in the UK to become unpaid carers
150%
increase in carers leaving employment since 2019
1 in 5
UK workers are currently juggling paid work with unpaid caring responsibilities
59%
of working carers say caring has already cost them hours, pay or career opportunities
Source: Carers UK, 2026
None of this is inevitable. Carers UK also found that 45% of working carers would be more likely to stay in their job if they had access to paid carers’ leave. The right support (awareness, manager confidence and practical policy) keeps experienced people in your business instead of losing them quietly, one resignation at a time.
A question for leaders
How well supported is your hidden workforce?
- Do you know how many of your people are quietly balancing work with caring for a child, partner or parent?
- Would your managers know what to say if someone told them today?
- Are your policies designed for carers, or just compliant with the minimum the law requires?
- What would it cost you to lose your best people to this, one resignation at a time?
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Carer awareness & inclusion strategy
Build the organisation-wide awareness, policy and manager confidence needed to support the full range of employees balancing work with caring: not just parent carers, but anyone caring for a partner, parent or other loved one.
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Keynotes & awareness sessions
Keynote talks for corporates and Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) to build awareness and understanding: honest, practical talks for all-staff events, leadership offsites and network launches, grounded in lived experience and the realities of professional life.
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Manager & leadership support
Managerial training to equip managers with the confidence and tools to support the carers in their teams: supportive, confident conversations and reasonable, sustainable adjustments, without guesswork.
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Group coaching for carers
A confidential space for the carers in your organisation to build community and internal support, helping them feel psychologically safe enough to share, and know that others truly ‘get it’.
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Consultancy & policy review
Review your family and carers’ policies, benefits and networks, and build a practical roadmap for a more carer-inclusive workplace.
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SEN system signposting & support
Drawing on my own experience navigating an EHCP, diagnosis and specialist school placement, I can directly signpost and support parents of children with autism, ADHD or other additional needs through the complexities of the SEN system.
Carer’s Leave Act: are you ready?
Since April 2024, employees in the UK have a day-one right to unpaid carer’s leave. Becky helps organisations go beyond compliance to build support that genuinely works for parent carers and their managers.
Kind words
“Becky’s session changed the conversation in our firm. Managers finally had language for something they’d been avoiding.” HR Director, professional services