Carers and Employment Conference Scotland

Wednesday 29 May 2024
09.30 - 16.00
COSLA Conference Centre, Edinburgh

Carers Scotland is delighted to give you advance notice of our exciting upcoming conference “Carers and Employment – the value of supporting carers in the workplace”, which will take place at the COSLA Conference Centre in Edinburgh in May 2024.

This event will bring together experts and leading employers to share their knowledge and best practice on how to support and retain employees who are juggling work with caring responsibilities in their home lives. Employers are becoming increasingly aware of the benefits to their business of ensuring that their employees who are carers are valued and supported to fulfil both important roles.

The conference takes place in a very important year for employers and carers alike. 2024 will see the implementation of legislation which will bring new statutory rights for all employees with caring responsibilities. The Carers Leave Act and Flexible Working Act will mean that all employers will need to provide dedicated carers leave and improved access to flexible working requests.

2024 also marks the 10th anniversary of the Carer Positive initiative, which has worked with over 260 organisations in Scotland to help develop good practice in supporting staff who are carers. The Conference will showcase some of the innovative practice developed by Carer Positive Employers in creating supportive workplace cultures.

As the population and workforce continue to get older, the number of carers in our workforce will also increase. Without the right type of support in place, employers will find it harder to both recruit and retain employees and risk losing staff who have years of valuable skills and experience – adding costs and skills gaps to their business.

Join us at this one-day conference to ensure that your organisation is well equipped for the implementation of the new legislation and to be ahead of the game in recruiting and retaining a valued group within your workforce.

This will be a great opportunity to network with colleagues, learn from experts and discover all you need to know about supporting carers in your workforce.

Benefits of attending

• Hear the latest on the Carers Leave Act, Flexible Working Act and associated Regulations, and what this will mean for employers.

• Hear from leading employers on how they have developed Carers Leave Policies, and other practical support for carers, including Carers Peer Support Networks, Carers Champions, Flexible Working Models, Carer Identification and Awareness Raising.

• Learn about the business case for supporting working carers – improving absence management, recruitment and retention, and supporting staff health & wellbeing.

• Hear first-hand experiences from working carers on the difference that good support has made to them.

• Find out how becoming a Carer Positive Employer in Scotland can help your organisation build a supportive workplace culture and be in the best position to attract and retain staff.

• Learn from experts on how supporting carers aligns with wider national and UK aspirations to promote fairer and more inclusive working practices, including Supporting Healthy Aging at Work, the Fair Work Framework and Scottish Business Pledge, Employee Engagement, health and wellbeing.

• Attend this full-day event in person to network, build relationships and learn from peers.

Key speakers and panel sessions will cover

• Understanding the scale and nature of caring in Scotland and the challenges facing working carers and employers, drawing evidence from the latest State of Caring Report

• Why this is so important for employers and the need to become an ‘employer of choice’

• Carers and the Law: your responsibilities as an employer and how to meet the requirements of the Carers Leave Act

• The benefits of being a Carer Positive Employer and how to build a positive workplace culture

• Creative solutions to building better awareness, carer identification, flexibility, and peer support

• Best practice in implementing a workplace carers policy

• Carers and employability: latest research from Oxfam and Carers Scotland

• A carers journey into work and what employers and key partners can do to support recruitment and sustainability

Who should attend?

This event is for small to large Scottish employers from the public, private and third sectors, including from the following teams:

• Senior Leadership Teams

• Line Managers

• HR Teams

• Occupational Health/Wellbeing Teams

• EDI Teams

• Employability professionals

• Business and employment experts

Tickets and available discounts

General admission to this conference is £125 +VAT.
An Early Bird Discounted rate of £100 +VAT is available on General Admission tickets until Feb 1st 2024.

We would like to make this event as accessible as possible to we are also pleased to offer a reduced rate of £100 +VAT for all attendees from charity organisations and employers who have been recognised as Carer Positive. Please contact [email protected] to access these tickets.

There will be a limited number of exhibition and sponsor opportunities at the conference. Contact [email protected] to discuss these options.

Event Venue & Nearby Stays

COSLA Conference Centre, 19 Haymarket Yards, Edinburgh, United Kingdom