The Government stepped up its action today to raise awareness of flexible working rights for carers with the publication of a new survey.

Millions of people are unaware that caring for a spouse or relative gives you the right to ask your employer to work flexibly, new stats out today show.

The majority (82 per cent) of adults aren’t aware that carers are legally entitled to ask their employer for flexible working arrangements, according to the new research. More than a third (35 per cent) of people surveyed had caring responsibilities which could make them eligible to ask.

People also have very different views about what makes someone a carer:

· Just 13 per cent thought it was doing certain things like popping to the shops to help out;

· 43 per cent thought it was helping out with tasks for a couple of hours a day; and

· 30 per cent thought that it was helping out for most of the day such as washing and cooking meals.

In fact, everyone who cares for a spouse, relative, or someone who lives with them, whatever level of support they provide, has the right to ask their employer if they can work flexibly.

People with caring responsibilities should not be afraid to ask: employers have already demonstrated their acceptance of flexible working, with more than 91 per cent of requests from parents and carers being accepted.

Harriet Harman, minister for Women and Equality, said: “Over the next two decades the number of people over 85 is expected to double, and the care given to them by their families will be every bit as important as—if not more important than—the care provided by social services and health authorities.

“Family care is very important, with the ‘stay-at-home’ daughter who used to provide that care now a ‘going-out-to-work’ daughter.

“We do not want people to have to choose between their work or providing important family care, so the question of their ability to work and employers' ability to respond flexibly is a huge one for the future.

“This Government recognises the importance of this family care, and those who go out to work as well as care for older relatives. That is why we brought in the right to request flexible working for those who care for older and disabled relatives.”

Today’s research shows that over a third of women (36%) of women and just under a third (28%) of men are currently carers, which if repeated across the country could mean that about 9 million women and 7 million men are carers.

The new data also suggests that the number of people ‘sandwiched’ between caring for older parents and children is on the rise: currently around one in a hundred people said they are currently in this role. This increases to five percent expecting to be in the future.

The younger generation expects to have to do more caring in the future - a quarter of 18-24 year olds expect to be caring for both a child and a parent in the future, as do one in ten 25-34 year olds