Changing perceptions

After comparing the results of our recent carers’ survey with our findings from 2020, Amelia Dowler shares the positives as well as the FDA’s recommendations to help carers within their civil service careers. 

We launched our new report on Changing Perceptions: Helping carers in the civil service reach their potential during Carers’ Week 2026. We surveyed members with caring responsibilities, and we are now using their experiences to help us to understand the working lives of carers in the civil service and to highlight the barriers they face.

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.

We last surveyed members with caring responsibilities in 2020, so this time we wanted 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.

One 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% in 2020. This document allows carers and their managers to record flexibilities needed for a carer to balance work with their caring responsibilities. In our 2020 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 completing 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 impact that knowledgeable and confident managers have on supporting carers. We 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.

This is the work we are now focusing on. All employers 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. A significant 86% of our respondents were not aware of policy changes following the new regulations.

The FDA is also recommending all employers level up to the best practice we already see across some employers where paid leave of five or more days is available for carers.

Our respondents also highlighted concerns around mandatory office attendance policies, promotion opportunities, and access to flexible working. We recommend that all employers review office attendance mandates to create 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. Employers risk wasting potential by not supporting their employees with caring responsibilities to progress.

Read more about the FDA’s carers’ report and next steps at www.fda.org.uk/news/changing-perceptions