Carole Ferry and Afsané Sabouhi, edited by Solène Leroux 07:03, October 06, 2021
It is the twelfth national day of caregivers, those people who provide assistance to an elderly dependent or disabled loved one.
A daily life that is often very heavy and difficult, especially when these caregivers are also employees.
For a year, a paid carer's leave has existed, but its use remains rather marginal.
One in six French people is affected.
There are 11 million caregivers in France and more than half have a professional activity.
Yet in one year, only 15,900 caregivers requested informal caregiver leave, which allows them to be absent for three renewable months.
But there are still obstacles.
First, the day is now compensated up to fifty euros per day.
A social advance, the amount of which is often insufficient in relation to the loss of wages generated.
Above all, employees fear being stigmatized, even in large groups at the forefront of the subject.
Persistent blockages
"I sometimes perceive some apprehension on the part of employees who, out of modesty, do not wish to communicate about their situation," says Séverine Amargier, head of disability policy within the Casino group.
She admits having trouble raising awareness about this helping leave.
"We have relatively few employees who have opted for this leave. Despite the fact that we have a relatively old policy on the subject and that we communicate on the subject of the caregiver," she says.
In addition, the government is working to simplify the still very tedious procedures to obtain this leave from the CAF.
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How to help caregivers?
Insufficient progress
To make the authorities aware of these issues, actions are organized throughout France on this twelfth national caregiver day. "The structures and associations ask for rights that are accessible", explains Morgane Hiron, general delegate of the collective "Je t'aide" which brings together 27 associations of carers. This collective created the National Caregivers Day in 2010 to make visible the millions of French people who help a loved one with a loss of autonomy or with a disability.
"We know that the right to respite was enshrined in the 2015 law, but it is a right that is not always effective for caregivers," she explains. The respite allows "loved ones to be accompanied by professionals while the caregivers can have a moment to breathe and take care of their lives". But this right to respite is not accessible throughout the territory. Finding "a structure near your home, adapted to the pathology of your loved one" is sometimes a challenge. "We know that there are many complex cases, for example of disabilities, autism: not all structures can accommodate, or they will be far away, which obviously complicates life for families and caregivers" , concludes the general delegate.