Am I a carer?
Am I a carer?
Answer
You are a carer if you look after, or help to look after, a family member, friend or neighbour who needs help due to illness, frailty or disability. Both children and adults can be carers. The help carers give is informal and unpaid (this does not exclude carers receiving Carer’s Allowance), we would therefore not consider you a carer if you are a professional who has been employed as a care worker or a foster carer (unless you are fostering a child with a disability or special need). You do not have to be receiving Carer’s Allowance (CA) to be a carer. In fact many carers do not qualify for CA, as the eligibility rules are restrictive. For example, both parents of a child with a disability would be considered carers, but only one parent would be able to claim CA – this does not stop both of them being carers. You do not have to live with the person you care for to be considered their carer. Nor do you have to be the only, or main, carer - a person may have several carers amongst their family and friends.