Are you the carer for someone being supported by IPS services? Have they thought about going back to work, even for a few hours a week?

This section of the website, is for you, their carer.

You may have questions about how going back to work will affect your friend or family member. You might also wonder how you will be affected when they get a job. This page is designed to help you think through how you can support the person you care for during their return to work, as well as providing information about support for carers.

Research demonstrates that having the right job improved mental and physical wellbeing –Getting back into employment can be a vital part of a recovery journey. People experiencing severe mental illness and/or addictions who find paid work show reduced symptoms, gain financial independence, and have improved quality of life. People in paid employment find that they’re able to live more independently, and play a valued role in their local community.

 

Having a job helps their recovery, and can help you too.  Getting this right involves helping someone choose the right job and putting the right support in place to help them stay in work.

It’s important for people to be supported by family and friends when they are starting something new, especially a new job. Being supportive and encouraging is one of the most important things you can do.

It will help you to have time to yourself.

 

If you are working, supporting the person you care for to access this service may mean that you will worry less throughout the day.

 

If you’re not working, this will give you some time to make the most of the support available from the local Carers’ Centre. You can also take up a hobby, or volunteer.

It shouldn’t create more work for you. It may result in less worry for you, and enable you to have some valuable time to yourself to do the things you enjoy.

It will not affect the benefits you receive in your own right.

 

If you are receiving Carer’s Allowance, this may change depending on whether the Disability Living Allowance or Personal Independence Payment for the person you support changes.

 

You can talk to the employment specialist working with your family member, or to a Benefits Advisor, to get specific advice on this.

 

For more information about benefits, see:

Not necessarily. Their employment specialist (ES) will advise the person you care for and help them tell the benefits office about any work they do. People claiming Employment Support Allowance (ESA) can do ‘permitted work’, which allows them to earn up to a set amount and work for up to a set number of hours. The details change, so check the Government’s website for up-to-date information.

 

If the person you care for is thinking about working for more than permitted work allows, their ES will do a Better Off Calculation to make sure they don’t lose out. It is very rare for anyone to be worse off when they come off benefits, and it might be possible to go on receiving some.