Oh good, Gardeners’ World is on. I can worry about what to wear in peace. That’s good grandma-sitting TV. I thought as I finished making grandma’s dinner or Friday evening. Worrying about what to wear is a problem I rarely face as a carer, I have a small selection of sweatpants and hoodies that I wear on rotation, I usually go for I-don’t-have-time-to-live chic. I had to look semi-presentable on Saturday morning as I was going to appear on BBC Breakfast to talk about the Carers’ Leave Act.

The Carers’ Leave Act, which entitles carers who are able to work to take up to five days unpaid leave per year, this concerns me as I’m either chained to my laptop or looking after grandma, often doing both at the same time. ITV news and BBC Breakfast wanted to speak to a working carer and I happily obliged as I think it is important to get carers and the issues they face in the news.

My PR professional brain kicked in as I stared a my closet in a mild panic, and I prepared the following points I wanted to make:

• The act is a good step forward to legitimise carers in the workplace and it will enable them to feel more confident in asking for what they’re entitled to.
• Any legislation that keeps carers employed is a good thing. Yes, it could go further but this is a good step to push for more – including a national strategy for carers. Too many carers are pushed into poverty because of the government’s inaction.
• Five days extra leave will act as a pressure release valve for me when I need to focus on caring for grandma. If she’s ill for example or if she has any particularly long hospital appointments.
• It will make employers have to survey their staff to see who has a caring responsibility. If they’re smart employers, they may also consider what other amendments they can make to accommodate those staff members, should they need extra help. 600 people a day quit their jobs to provide care for a loved one; a trend that is only going to get worse so they should plan for that in their DEI programs.
• Caring will affect everyone and there are only three types of people in the UK: unpaid carers, soon-to-be-unpaid carers, or the people requiring the care.
• Carers are the scaffolding that hold up the crumbling social care and health services.

Happy with my mental list, I felt ready to not embarrass myself on TV. I went with jeans and a black jumper- boring but safe.

I needn’t have worried, the whole experience went smoothly and I met a complete campaigning powerhouse, Ruth Hannan, co-founder of the Care Full campaign. We happily chatted and plotted our messaging as we waited to get our makeup done. I went for the ‘TV tired’ look to keep things on brand as a working carer. I was delighted to see a pre-recorded piece from the amazing Katy Styles, founder of the We Care Campaign and we were also joined virtually by Helen Walker, the CEO of Carers UK. Illustrious company!

Focus, Laura, don’t mess this up.

Our interview went well, Ruth and I making all the points we wanted to. I left the whole experience feeling energised to know that such great people are campaigning on carers’ behalf, after that morning, change felt possible. I was happy I’d taken part.

Grandma only had one critique of the interview: ‘When they asked you about my age and what keeps me going, you should have said it was down to my wine and garlic! You put my creams on.’

‘I did think about that grandma, but then I thought you’d be annoyed if I’d made you out to be an alcoholic on national TV.’

‘I’m not an alcoholic! I only have two glasses of wine at lunch.’

‘Yes, I’m well aware. Right, come on, let’s get you showered.’

Real life quickly kicked in after my early morning BBC interlude. I got grandma ready and dressed, did the grocery shopping, made lunch, and as we were about to eat, a work emergency reared its ugly head and I worked for the rest of the day. Not sure those are covered by the new law.

We also filmed a piece for ITV news, which features grandma, who is now a bonafide celebrity in the cul-de-sac. You can watch the piece here: https://www.itv.com/news/granada/2024-04-05/pressure-release-valve-the-new-law-guaranteeing-leave-for-unpaid-carers