Short Steps

The carer's perspective

Serious mental illness can have a huge effect on people's lives, even if they do not have the illness themselves. Many people will find themselves caring for someone with schizophrenia or bipolar disorder, whether a spouse, partner, child or other family member.

You may have an employee who is also a carer for someone with a serious mental illness. Because caring is such hard work, many people in this situation find that they have no choice other than to give up their job. However, with a few adjustments it is possible for them to keep their job, meaning that they still have their ‘own life', away from their caring responsibilities and that you, as their employer, can retain their valuable skills and knowledge.

Hafal's Short Steps project can help carers and their employers to find a way to do this. We will:-

• work with you to identify ways in which you can both compromise to enable your employee to carry on working;
• work with carers to ensure that they have access to support such as respite care and training opportunities;
• we can also provide training, at discounted rates, to employers and their HR functions on mental health awareness.

Carers, as well as people with serious mental illness, also have rights under the Disability Discrimination Act and the EU's Equal Treatment Framework Directive.

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