This Carers’ Week the FDA has launched a new report – Changing Perceptions: Helping carers in the civil service reach their potential. Roughly one-in-five civil servants also have caring responsibilities alongside their jobs. Using the experiences of our members with caring responsibilities, the report is helping to understand the working lives of carers in the civil service and to highlight the barriers they face.
We last surveyed members with caring responsibilities in 2020, so we were keen to see what progress has been made and to check on new areas, such as the Carer’s Leave Regulations 2024 for employees in England, Wales, and Scotland.
Changing perceptions is built on a recent survey which received more than 200 responses from civil servants with caring responsibilities. The survey paints a diverse and complex picture of carers and the work they do. Anyone can hold caring responsibilities, which can range from practical support, to help with mobility, to emotional support.
One key area of positive change is the increase in the awareness and uptake of carers’ passports. In 2025, 86% of respondents knew about the Carer’s Passport, up from 71% who had heard of it in 2020. This document allows carers and their managers to record the adjustments or flexibilities needed for a carer to balance their work with their caring responsibilities. In our previous report we recommended that there be wider publicity for and take up of the Carer’s Passport so it is hugely encouraging that the work of FDA reps, employer carers networks, and the Charity for Civil Servants has had a positive effect.
We also found a greater willingness amongst respondents to talk to line managers about how to fill out the passport and there has been an increase in the number of respondents having all their flexibilities agreed as part of the passport process – 80% in 2025 compared to 59% in 2020.
Our report emphasises the evident impact that knowledgeable and confident managers have on supporting carers. We at the FDA want to see this approach to carers as a model for managers across the civil service – we’re calling on employers to support excellence in managers through training and strong leadership from the top.
There are already great examples of carers leave policies in the civil service, including employers offering paid leave for carers. Other employers should follow this best practice to support their carers.
However, there are clear improvements some employers still need to make on carers policies and their implementation. All departments must check they have updated their carers leave policy to comply with the Carer’s Leave Regulations 2024 and raise awareness of carers’ statutory rights to one week’s unpaid leave per year. Some policies even fail to refer to carers’ statutory rights and have not been updated since the introduction of new legislation. We will be contacting departments where updates are needed as clear information on carers’ rights is vital for both carers and their managers. A significant 86% of our respondents were not aware of policy changes following the new regulations.
Our respondents also highlighted concerns around mandatory office attendance policies, promotion opportunities, flexible working, and carrying out their roles alongside their caring responsibilities. We recommend that all employers review office attendance mandates with a view to creating a more flexible approach – this must consider whether a piece of work can be best completed in person or remotely, rather than blanket mandates. Additionally, all employers should routinely assess whether higher graded jobs and promotion opportunities can be advertised as job shares, or for remote or hybrid working to support carers and other employees with need for flexibility.
It has been a privilege to read the comments and stories shared with the FDA. Carers in the civil service are valuable members of staff with a multitude of skills, which are useful both in their caring responsibilities and in the workplace. With support from employers, experienced and dedicated staff can unlock their talents to the benefit of all.
Amelia Dowler is national officer for equality, diversity, and inclusion at the FDA union. Read Changing perceptions: Helping carers in the civil service reach their potential here