Providing unpaid care for disabled, sick or elderly relatives and loved ones is often a physically and emotionally challenging task for the individual. Informal carers not only reduce the burden on the social care system and therefore the economy, but they often do so with very little support (financial or otherwise) for themselves. This group are also often excluded from the job market, with over a million UK residents providing 50 or more hours of care a week, more than full-time working hours. For those who have fewer hours of caring responsibilities, a lack of flexibility in the workplace may also make continuing work impossible. A survey by Carers UK (in 2011)  found 44% of carers reporting that they had been pushed into debt as a result of the extra costs of caring or of giving up work or reducing working hours to provide care.