Nationwide's support for carers recognised with Employers Care Award

Nationwide Building Society has been praised for its outstanding support for carers by the Swindon Carers Centre.

The Carers Centre has praised Nationwide for its efforts to understand and support employees with caring responsibilities.

Swindon Carers Centre has presented Nationwide with the Swindon Employers Care Award in recognition of its commitment to unpaid carers in the workplace.

Reflecting on this achievement, Judy Evans, from Swindon Carers Centre, said Nationwide is a real leader when it comes to creating an environment where working carers can flourish.

Joanna Hall, Co-Chair of the Working Carers Employee Network Group at Nationwide, said: “It’s been a pleasure working with Swindon Carers Centre towards achieving our Swindon Employee Care Award.

"The whole process has helped us to review what we do and ensure we are doing our very best for our working carers. We are very proud of this achievement and our thanks go to Judy and her team for their ongoing support.”

The Swindon Carers Centre defines an unpaid carer as anyone who looks after a family member, partner or friend who needs help because of their illness, frailty, disability, a mental health problem or an addition and cannot cope without their support.

The charity said it appreciates that juggling these caring responsibilities alongside working life can be challenging, and that a supportive workplace can make all the difference, helping employees to look after their own health and wellbeing, and continue thriving in their job.

At Nationwide, teams and managers have worked with Judy Evans, Partnerships Manager at Swindon Carers, to revisit and develop support in place for employees who are also carers as part of the Swindon Employers Care Award.

Nationwide already have several initiatives in place including the Working Carers Network, which aims to give employees an open, supportive space to speak about their caring role, share experiences and learn new ways to balance caring responsibilities alongside other demands life can place on people.

Nationwide also provides Carers Passports, which can be completed by employees giving details of their caring responsibilities, that help to facilitate conversations with line managers to ensure working carers can achieve the right balance between their work and their caring responsibilities.

Carers also have the option of up to five extra days of paid leave via the Society’s Family Support Leave scheme.

Judy Evans, Partnerships Manager at Swindon Carers Centre, said: “Nationwide are so supportive of their working carers and have been for a long time.

“It’s been a real pleasure and privilege to offer my support and to work with them towards completing the Swindon Employers Care Award. They are an excellent role-model and I have been able to share many of their ideas and initiatives with others.

“Congratulations to the whole team on achieving the award.”