Evaluation of the Carers in Employment (CiE) Project

This government-funded and independently evaluated project, which ran from 2015-2017, looks at what works to support carers to remain or return to the workplace. The Carers in Employment (CiE) project took place in nine local authorities, who were encouraged to develop local solutions to support carers to remain in or return to work; work involving employers was found to be a central to the project’s success.

This is the evaluation report for the project. It finds that, out of the nearly three thousand carers who took part, CiE sites said that they had supported nearly 60% to stay in work. It is hoped that the findings of the independent evaluation will make an important contribution to ensuring that carers’ needs are reflected in future employment-related carer policy and practice. It is also hoped that the project will encourage the country’s carers to be part of the world of work and also to encourage more employers to be carer-friendly.

The work was commissioned by the Department of Health (now the Department of Health and Social Care), the Department for Work and Pensions and the Government Equalities Office. The Social Care Institute for Excellence (SCIE) co-ordinated and supported the delivery of the project. The Institute for Employment Studies (IES) was commissioned to undertake an independent evaluation.