Balancing work and unpaid care: a critical issue – Carers UK Report 

The state of social care is increasingly being absorbed by unpaid carers 

The scale of unpaid care in the UK is a stark indication of the pressure facing the social care system. 

New findings from Carers UK report in September 2026 show that one in five UK workers is now combining paid employment with unpaid caring responsibilities, an estimated 6.7 million people. That represents a substantial increase from 2019, when 15% of workers were combining work and care. 

An estimated 3.3 million people have left employment at some point to provide unpaid care, while 4.1 million have reduced their working hours. Around 1.1 million people have left work in the last two years alone, approximately 1,500 people every day. 

Behind these figures is a clear warning for social care. People are being forced to make significant changes to their working lives because the care and support available to their loved ones is not sufficient to meet their needs, and this is occurring more frequently. This is a workforce and capacity issue for the social care sector itself. 

Unpaid care is filling the gaps in formal care 

The figures demonstrate just how heavily the UK relies on unpaid carers. 

Among people currently providing unpaid care, more than half report that their caring responsibilities have had an impact in the workplace. One in five current carers have reduced their working hours, while 16% of people with current or previous caring experience have left paid employment because of caring. 

11.6 million UK adults report that caring for an older, seriously ill or disabled person has negatively affected their employment at some point. Among people currently providing care, that rises to 52%. 

These figures raise questions about the sustainability of the current social care model. The country’s care needs are being met by people stepping back from employment, as a result of a formal care system that cannot provide the support they need. Consequences will eventually reach the formal care system 

This is also a social care workforce issue 

The implications for the social care workforce are twofold. 

1. Unpaid carers are part of the wider workforce pipeline

The millions of people combining work and care are already participating in the labour market. When caring responsibilities become incompatible with employment, the economy loses workers and social care is not insulated from that effect. 

Social care providers are themselves employers of people who may have caring responsibilities outside work. 

That means the pressures identified by Carers UK are also pressures on the social care workforce. 

Care workers can be managing demanding roles at work while simultaneously caring for their loved ones. Without appropriate support, providers risk losing experienced staff, reducing hours, or seeing employees struggle to sustain employment. 

The wider labour market evidence among current and former carers in employment is particularly concerning: 

• 12% have changed employer because of caring responsibilities. 

• 13% have taken a lower-paid or more junior role. 

• 12% have turned down a promotion. 

• 13% have declined training opportunities. 

• 15% have reduced their pension contributions. 

For social care providers already operating in a highly competitive labour market with severe recruitment and retention issues, the loss of experienced staff and reduced access to progression and training can compound existing workforce pressures. 

2. When unpaid care collapses, demand for formal care increases

Unpaid care is an enormous, largely invisible component of the UK’s care infrastructure. Carers UK uncovered that people often continue to provide care by reducing their hours, using savings, taking on debt or leaving employment altogether. But there is a limit to how far families can compensate for gaps in formal provision. The Carers UK findings suggest that limit is being reached by increasing numbers of people. 

Around 23% of carers with current or previous caring experience report increased household costs, while 23% report using savings to manage the financial consequences of caring. If finances are no longer manageable, unpaid carers will no longer be able to support their loved ones, resulting in more pressure on the social care system and the NHS. 

The current model is storing up workforce and capacity problems 

There is a tendency to treat unpaid care as an informal resource that can compensate for pressures elsewhere in the system. Every person who reduces their working hours or leaves employment to provide care represents reduction in the available workforce. 

For social care, there is an additional risk. If unpaid care is increasingly being used to compensate for insufficient formal provision, providers may face greater and more complex demand when those informal arrangements finally become unsustainable. 

Underinvestment in formal social care does not remove the cost of care. The cost is instead shifted onto families, workers, employers and ultimately the wider economy. 

Employers have a role, but employers cannot solve this alone 

There is strong public support for better workplace support for carers. 

Carers UK reports that: 

• 79% support flexible working as a key form of support; 

• 79% value a supportive line manager or understanding employer; 

• 73% support a statutory right to paid Carer’s Leave; 

• 72% support more flexible approaches to leave when caring responsibilities become more intensive; 

• 68% believe employers should help employees access information and advice. 

Employers therefore have an important role in helping people remain in work. 

For Care England members, practical measures can include: 

• paid Carer’s Leave; 

• flexible working wherever operationally possible; 

• clear policies for employees with caring responsibilities; 

• training for managers; 

• Carer Passports; 

• carer networks and champions; 

• access to wellbeing and occupational health support; 

• and better identification of caring responsibilities within workforce planning. 

But it would be wrong to suggest that better employment practices can solve the underlying problem. Providers can support their employees to balance work and care, but they cannot substitute for a properly funded and accessible social care system. 

What this means for Care England members 

The findings strengthen the case for Burnham’s mission to place social care as essential national infrastructure rather than a residual service that families are expected to supplement indefinitely. 

For Care England members, there are two interconnected workforce priorities. 

1. Support the carers within our own workforce: Care providers should be employers where people with caring responsibilities can remain in work and develop their careers. 
2. Recognise the contribution of unpaid carers, who are effectively providing a vast amount of care outside the formal system. 

For Care England, we will continue to lobby to make sustainable social care a national priority. The solution cannot simply be to ask families to provide more unpaid care or employers to become more accommodating. The UK needs a social care system with sufficient capacity, funding and workforce to provide people with the care they need. 

The Carers UK evidence should therefore be understood as part of the wider evidence of a social care system under unsustainable pressure. Supporting unpaid carers is important. But the objective should not be to make it easier for people to provide ever greater amounts of unpaid care. The objective should be to ensure that people are able to choose to work, choose to care and access appropriate formal support, rather than being forced out of employment because adequate care is unavailable.