Dependency and Carer support at Camden Council

We support our colleagues who are carers outside of work. We appreciate the juggling act that you have to do on a regular - sometimes daily - basis and at Camden, we aim to make life just a little bit easier for you by providing support and relevant information that might help you balance work with your caring role.

If you are supporting a family member or a friend who is frail or has a physical disability, mental health issue, learning disability, substance misuse issues or a life-limiting condition, then you are a carer – you may live with the person you care for or they might be over the other side of the country.

Support for staff who are unpaid carers:

• Carers Yammer Group – There is a dedicated space for Carers is a for you to share resources, support each other or just let off steam. It is a closed group, which means that what you write in the group won’t be available for the wider organisation to see. It is a safe space for you as carers. It is also a space to find out about the events that we’re running specifically for carers. ​​​
• Our Wellbeing Passport provides a template to enable you to have open conversations with your manager about the adjustments or specific arrangements you might need to juggle work and your caring responsibilities.
• Dependency leave – all employees are entitled to take reasonable unpaid time off to care for a dependent because normal care arrangements have broken down without notice. Camden enhances this entitlement by providing up to 5 days (pro rata) of paid dependency leave in any leave year. You can take 5 days to help cover any circumstances where the care requirements of your dependent/s mean that it's not possible for you to work at all, or for some periods of time. You can use dependency leave flexibly – including taking part days if you're sharing caring responsibilities with your partner for example. A dependent is usually defined as a spouse, civil partner, child, parent or person who lives in the same household as you other than as an employee, tenant, lodger or boarder. In some circumstances this will also include anyone who reasonably relies on you for assistance, to make arrangements for care provision, or to provide care.
• Disability Leave – We offer 10 additional days of paid leave each annual leave year for our staff who have declared a disability and staff who have declared that they have caring responsibilities for someone with a disability.
• Camden Carers offers information, advice and support to unpaid adult carers (18+) living, working or studying in Camden, or caring for someone who lives in Camden
• ​​Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) is a free, independent and confidential service – with access to counselling and a wide range of other support from specialists.