Making a difference: Sopra Steria’s commitment to carers

At the beginning of 2023, Sopra Steria introduced its carers policy and paid leave allowance. 18 months on, we take a look at the impact it’s had across the organisation.

For anybody who has caring responsibilities for a family member, partner or friend, you’ll know it can be a challenge finding a balance between personal and work commitments. When we undertook a major review of our benefits in 2022, we identified the potential to improve and expand our family leave policies to provide better support for our people with caring responsibilities.

Needing to care for a loved one shouldn’t lead to financial penalties or concern over justifying time out of work. Between 2010 and 2020, more than 1.9 million people in paid employment became unpaid carers each year [Petrillo, Bennett and Pryce, 2022]. The most recent Census 2021 puts the estimated number of unpaid carers in England and Wales at 5 million, and 5.7 million across the UK when combined with ONS Census data for Scotland and Northern Ireland. Chances are, a colleague you work with regularly may have caring commitments alongside their day job.

We want to make sure we’re supporting our people at the times they need it most, so – as part of our benefit improvements – we introduced a carers policy with five paid days of leave available per year.

Many of our people have made use of this entitlement and have benefited from the support.

“The company has been very flexible when it came to me needing time out to deal with a family member's health concern. I truly value this support as I was able to handle it without having the stress of worrying about my position at work.”

“The new carers leave policy helped me enormously when my mum received a diagnosis which meant I needed to be available to transport her to a number of medical appointments.”

In 2023, 221 of our colleagues used one or more days of carers leave to support a loved one. In the first half of 2024, this has increased to 353 colleagues. We don’t require our employees to disclose themselves as carers and we handle their information in confidence and in line with GDPR. If somebody feels they don’t meet the definition of a carer, they’re encouraged to speak to us confidentially so we can make sure they’re being supported in the right way.

“My mum is a full-time carer for my dad but was recently unable to make one of his hospital appointments. Relying on hospital transport can mean that what should be a 10-minute appointment can easily turn into a day-long outing, so it’s important someone is around to feed my dad and empty his catheter. Being able to book a paid day of carer’s leave meant I could step in for my mum without her feeling guilty. I felt proud being able to say that I could take time out from work without it being a problem, due to my employer being so understanding”.

In addition to paid leave, colleagues with caring responsibilities and their line managers are encouraged to explore any workplace adjustments they need. For example, someone may need more flexible working hours, including the time they start or finish work, or when they take their lunch break. Or they may require a change to where they work, such as needing to work remotely more often. It’s important that our people with caring responsibilities are fully supported so they feel able to do their job while upholding their other responsibilities.

We offer a multitude of resources to support carers with any emotional or practical challenges they may face. ‘The Wellbeing Hub’ on our intranet has a page dedicated to ‘Life's Events and Challenges’. This provides links to our internal policies and guides on a number of topics, as well as external resources and charities/support contacts. We also include easy access to our Mental Health First Aiders and Employee Assistance Programme.

“When you are in the middle of a crisis, you very rarely get time to think or look after your own wellbeing, especially when balancing work, family, hospital visits and helping with everyday activities that are sometimes taken for granted. When I reached the point of needing assistance, the support I received from work was second to none. The people make Sopra Steria the amazing company that it is, and there is a wealth and depth of knowledge and shared experience that would be hard to find within other companies.”

Since introducing the carers policy, we’ve found that having tangible support structures not only makes the practical coordination of colleagues’ lives easier, but it’s had a profound impact on our people’s wellbeing. Juggling responsibilities can take its toll emotionally, so showing people that there’s no penalty or judgment for prioritising a loved one can be very reassuring. Our people are at the heart of our organisation and their needs and wellbeing will always be a priority.  

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