Supporting Employees with Dependent and Elder Care Responsibilities

Caregiving responsibilities are a reality faced by close to three-quarters of today’s workforce. The demands are significant. Nearly 23% of working caregivers manage dual or multiple roles, such as caring for both children and aging family members, reflecting the realities of the “sandwich generation,” according to SHRM research. 

Furthermore, with an aging population, elder care is emerging as a growing concern. Among workers who are not currently primary caregivers, 13% expect to take on elder care responsibilities within the next five years, SHRM's survey fuond, highlighting the urgency for workplace policies that support these critical roles.

The profile of employees with caregiving responsibilities is becoming increasingly varied, driven by changes in demographics, caregiving roles, and the evolving nature of relationships between caregivers and those they support. Caregiving now extends beyond traditional family structures, requiring forward-thinking organizations to acknowledge these shifts and implement proactive strategies to meet the needs of today’s and tomorrow’s caregivers. 

Employers play a pivotal role in providing support. For organizations to remain competitive and inclusive, implementing effective benefits and policies to assist caregivers isn’t optional — it’s essential. This toolkit explores how HR professionals and employers can support these workers through policies and programs designed to address family care needs.

The Business Case for Providing Support

When caregiving responsibilities become overwhelming, employees face challenges that affect their well-being and productivity. Organizations that adopt a proactive approach to supporting caregivers consistently outperform those with a reactive strategy on critical business metrics, according to another piece of SHRM research. Those include:

• Engagement: Proactively reviewing and enhancing policies and benefits that impact caregivers fosters engagement, the survey found. For instance, organizations that regularly assess their caregiver-focused policies report higher levels of employee engagement (67%) than those evaluating policies infrequently or only when issues arise (57%) or those neglecting the process altogether (38%).
• Recruitment: Organizations that have modified their policies in the last five years to make them more inclusive of different types of caregivers, compared to organizations that have not made any modifications, are significantly more likely to report better recruitment performance (65% versus 57%). 
• Employee relations: Similarly, organizations paying attention to their caregiver related policies are more likely to report better employee relations (75% versus 66%). 

Caregiving responsibilities significantly affect employment, career choices, and daily life. These challenges often arise from both the demands of caregiving and insufficient support systems, forcing caregivers to make difficult decisions about time management, stress, and balancing work with personal responsibilities.

The SHRM research showed that due to insufficient support from employers, working caregivers have made these decisions:

• 48% used vacation or personal days for caregiving.
• 28% have had to reduce the number of hours they worked.
• 21% have had to reduce their workload.
• 17% turned down business travel opportunities.
• 15% missed out on work-related trainings or workshops.
• 14% have changed jobs for more flexibility.

For employers, this results in reduced productivity, increased absenteeism, and higher turnover rates. Providing support — such as flexible work hours or caregiver leave — can counteract these trends, helping employees maintain a balance that benefits both their personal lives and workplace performance.

According to the 2024 SHRM Employee Benefits Survey, 13% of companies offer their employees an elder care referral service with the names of elder care providers (separate from or part of an employee assistance program [EAP]). Employers that recognize and assist these employees through their benefits packages position themselves well in a competitive labor market.

Caregiving benefits can support workers and your company’s bottom line. Employers seeking to offer caregiving support while managing costs have various solutions to consider, including: 

• Using online platforms that provide caregiving resources, such as informational content and curated lists of caregivers.
• Leveraging broader technology solutions not solely designed for caregiving. 
• Example: Businesses with hourly shift workers in industries such as hospitality and retail can adopt technologies and applications that facilitate schedule adjustments.

HR’s Role

HR professionals are key to the management of an employer’s dependent and elder care benefits. Here are just a few examples:

• Collaboration: Work with the legal, medical, security, or risk management functions on issues related to the design and implementation of the policies.
• Implementation: Set benefits policies. Consider beefing up benefits concerning dependent and elder care support. Select reputable vendors, administer flexible spending accounts, and manage vendors.
• Communication: Communicate the policies and procedures.
• Monitoring: Keep tabs on the effectiveness of the program. Measure its results in terms of the program’s objectives and report periodically to senior management with recommendations.
• Compliance: Track the policies and benefits for compliance with legal and regulatory authorities.

Types of Family-Care Benefits

Outside of paid time off, the benefits caregivers say they use most and find most helpful are flexible scheduling, remote work, reduction to part-time hours, job sharing, and specialized caregiver services. You have numerous options to help employees manage caregiving responsibilities, including:

Flexible work arrangements: Allow flexible schedules and telecommuting to ease caregivers’ time management challenges. Post-pandemic, permanent flexible work arrangements have become a standard offering in many companies, proving to be a powerful tool for attracting and retaining talent.

Members-Only Toolkit: Managing Flexible Work Arrangements

Dependent Care Assistance Plans (DCAPs): A DCAP is a form of flexible spending account (FSA) that provides a tax-free vehicle for employees to pay for certain dependent care expenses. Dependent care plans can provide assistance up to a value of $5,000 ($2,500 per parent if married and filing separately), tax-free.

DCAPs offer a tax-advantaged method for employees to cover child care or dependent care expenses while they work. Contributions made by the employer or employee are tax-free up to $5,000 annually. These plans often include expenses for children under 13 or tax-dependent adults living in an employee’s home.

Resource and referral services: Many organizations partner with third-party vendors to provide employees with trusted resources, such as contacts for elder care services or temporary child care options. This support is often included in EAPs, ensuring employees can access crucial advice and referrals when needed.

Employer-funded paid family or medical leave: Paid parental leave and policies offering extra time off for elder care reflect a growing awareness among employers of the demands placed on caregivers. Caregiving leave can give your company a labor market advantage.

Members-Only Resource: Paid Family and Medical Leave Policy

Unpaid leave: This option allows employees to address these needs without jeopardizing their jobs or careers. It can be a valuable employee benefit, particularly for situations such as family and medical emergencies or when employees need to take time off for personal reasons.

Onsite and backup care: While onsite care might not always be feasible, offering backup dependent and elder care arrangements — in the form of either subsidies or partnerships with care providers — can provide a safety net in emergencies.

Legal Issues

Expectant mothers, parents of young children, and employees with aging parents or sick family members should not be subject to discrimination based on their caregiving responsibilities. Employers should avoid stereotypes regarding the impact of family care needs on job performance and focus on supporting these workers to be successful in the workplace.

There are legal risks for employers who neglect to recognize the plight of caregivers or who treat caregiver employees more negatively than other employees. A growing number of workers are winning lawsuits claiming that their bosses have discriminated against them based on their family responsibilities. The details of some of these cases are troubling. For example:

• A female employee was told it was “too bad” she got pregnant after the promotion that had been promised her was given to a man.
• After applying for a position, a father was told that the job had been “specifically designed for single males without children.”
• A woman was instructed to accept a demotion or go on leave because she couldn’t do the job of co-director while pregnant.

These are egregious examples; caregiver discrimination is often much more subtle, like when a manager gives better assignments to those without known family responsibilities. A supervisor’s actions, though well intentioned, can still be discriminatory. 

Pro Tip: Engage in one-on-one discussions to assess workloads and listen to employees’ needs.

There are two main things to keep in mind when considering legal issues surrounding employees with caregiving responsibilities: 

• Avoiding risk: To mitigate risks, employers should ensure all policies are equitable and inclusive, providing equal flexibility and opportunities to all employees, regardless of caregiving responsibilities. Men should have the same access to family care benefits as women, and definitions of “family” in benefit policies should reflect modern household structures.
• Monitoring for disparities: Be on the lookout for benefits disparity among employees — such as single versus family-aligned benefits packages. Ensuring fairness in workload distribution between caregivers and noncaregivers is essential in avoiding workplace tensions and maintaining team cohesion.

Leave Considerations

The federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and some state laws provide employees with unpaid job-protected leave to care for family members.

SHRM Members-Only Toolkit: Managing Family and Medical Leave

Several states have enacted paid family leave laws funded through state payroll taxes. Federal legislation requiring paid family and medical leave for employees has been introduced by Congress on several occasions but has yet to be passed into law.

Employers that offer separate vacation and sick leave banks often allow employees to use sick leave to care for an ill family member. However, employers should review their internal definition of “family member” to ensure it aligns with the needs of the current workforce. 

Example: The New York City Commission on Human Rights protects caregivers from discrimination and defines covered relatives as children (adopted, biological, or foster), spouses, domestic partners, parents, siblings, grandchildren, grandparents, children or parents of the caregiver’s spouse or domestic partner, or any individuals in a familial relationship with the caregiver.

Communication and Tax Issues

Employer-provided benefits also come with tax and communication challenges. For example:

• Employees using dependent care FSAs must adhere to the “use it or lose it” rule. Clearly outline FSA timelines and rollover options allowed by the IRS.
• Offering over $5,000 of DCAP assistance may result in taxable income for employees.
• Paid leave benefits may allow employers to capture federal tax credits, provided the leave meets the minimum compensation standards.

Pro Tip: Ensure employees understand these factors to maximize engagement and satisfaction with caregiving benefits.

Global Perspectives

Organizations with international employees must tailor benefits packages to align with local laws and cultural expectations. By seeking local legal counsel and understanding country-specific practices, global companies can implement caregiving programs that are adaptable to varying jurisdictions while maintaining equity across their workforce.

Members-Only Resource: SHRM Interactive Tools, featuring an International Labor and Employment Compliance Handbook.