I Couldn't Care Less: Carer Job Hunt

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A hypodermic needle and a vial

Carer Job Hunt

At the moment I am joining the millions over the years who have faced the threat of redundancy. I don't know when the dreaded axe will fall (or if it will fall at all, I'm not the one who makes that call). What I do know is that if and when the day comes when our store closes for good I will be in desperate need of a job. Despite appearances I am not entirely stupid and have started looking for work already. As I received a job offer it raised all sorts of questions about my first job search in six years, and how significantly the decision making process is affected by my position as a carer.


In the first place there is the business of money. Now I know everyone has this issue, but as someone with an effective dependant it is, or feels, all the tighter for me. My wife desperately wants to work but in an environment where there are somewhere in the region of 3 million people (of whom we know) who can't find a job, the natural disadvantages her health lumbers her with mean that she will find it even harder. On top of this she is currently being advised by her GP not to work more than 16 hours. She's not, for the foreseeable future, going to be the major breadwinner. There is no prospect, therefore, of me taking my time to find a position that is right for me. There aren't many jobs out there so I really have to make sure that I am tied to something full time and secure as soon as possible.


But I need a job that meets my needs as a carer. You know that bit in an interview where they ask you if you have any questions? You know how you have to make sure you have some intelligent and thoughtful sounding questions ready for it? Well my main question was to ask whether or not my responsibilities would be respected as they are in my current job. I am allowed, by the kindness of my manager rather than the generosity of our employers, to carry my mobile phone with me on the shop floor so that on the rare occasions my wife needs to contact me in an emergency she can get directly through to me without any waiting. NOW. I am, I explained, a carer for my wife. My interviewer noted that she had been the word 'carer' on my cv but hadn't known what it was. At the time I couldn't help wondering why she had seen the word and not bothered, during the course of the interview, to ask what it meant. I recalled this detail to my wife and my boss later, neither of whom could believe that anyone could not know what a carer was. I don't know what to think, but I didn't really feel that it boded well for my caring role being treated as sympathetically as it currently is.


On the subject of my phone she asked if I could have it on silent and vibrate, and leave the shop floor discreetly to check it when necessary. I said that I wasn't sure, but I could try. I wish I had been more direct on this point. Allow me to be clear for anyone who might find themselves on the employer's side of the fence: absolutely not. I had related a couple of occasions when my wife needed me, and phoned me on my mobile rather than the work phone. On at least one of these occasions I had to dash home as quickly as possible and call an ambulance for her, as she could not stop being sick. She was in hospital for two days while they found the right medication to sort her out, and fed it to her through a drip. This was pretty serious, really. So no, I can't keep my phone on silent and risk the prospect of missing that phone call in order to give your customers the entirely erroneous impression that making sure that I personally am selling them stuff is more important to me than attending to the medical wellbeing of my sick wife.


Now I do know that I am fortunate that I have been given such freedom at my current job. But I'm not doing this for my amusement, you know. I'm doing it because my wife is sick and I am trying, when she needs me, to take care of her. So I need an employer who understands what a carer does and is prepared to allow them, within reason, to work within the confines of their responsibilities. I suppose now I will have to look at what my actual rights are as a carer so that I know what I can and cannot demand from an employer. If I get lucky I may find a job soon. If I get really lucky I will find a job with an employer who understands what a carer does. I will count myself blessed indeed to find a employer who is sympathetic to my needs and prepared to work with them for me. Fingers crossed.

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