ALMOST a fifth of employees in the Midlands have taken time off work or worked irregular hours to care for a family member, according to research by Willis PMI Group.

Although 16 per cent have benefited from flexible working to do so, more than two-fifths have used their annual holiday allowance and a further 39 per cent have taken sick leave.

London has the highest proportion of workers affected by caring responsibilities in the UK with 38 per cent of employees taking time off, while just 16 per cent in the North West did so.

Mike Blake, Willis PMI Group director, said: “Although employees have a legal right to take time off to deal with emergencies involving dependents, those having to juggle work with ongoing caring responsibilities can feel under considerable pressure and may even be forced to give up work.

“There is a strong business case for offering flexible working options, with such provisions improving productivity and cutting costs by reducing staff turnover and absenteeism.”

Legislation introduced last year has given all employees with 26 weeks of service the right to request flexible working.

The Willis PMI Group study, however, found that just 44 per cent of workers in the Midlands are aware of this entitlement, slightly higher than the national average of 42 per cent.

Only 45 per cent believe their employer would accept a request for flexible working in any case to help them manage their work-life balance.

Mr Blake added: “Family life demands can be extremely challenging and faced with an ageing population, elderly care responsibilities are set to rise.

“The workplace will need to keep pace to ensure the health, wellbeing and motivation of staff is not compromised.”