What is carer’s leave?

The Carer’s Leave Act and the associated Carer’s Leave Regulations 2024 came into effect in April 2024, against a backdrop of an ageing population and an increasing number of employees balancing caring duties at home with their work life. This new legislation introduced a statutory right to carer’s leave for employees, campaigned for by Carers UK, a leading authority providing key statistics and advocacy on unpaid carers’ issues. This statutory right grants employees one week’s unpaid leave each year to support their caregiving responsibilities. Employees can take carer’s leave to provide or arrange care with a care worker for dependents with long-term care needs, including those affected by illness or injury. A week of carer’s leave is defined based on the employee’s usual working pattern so that there’s flexibility for different working arrangements. 

The process for submitting a carer’s leave request requires your employees to notify you at least three days in advance of the first intended leave day. While you can’t refuse a carer’s leave request, you may delay it if the employee’s absence would cause significant disruption to the business.

The Carer’s Leave Act is believed to benefit up to two million employees, reflecting the significant impact of unpaid carers on the UK economy.  

Eligibility for carer’s leave

Under the Carer’s Leave Act, eligibility for carer’s leave is broad and inclusive, ensuring that employees who need to care for a dependant with a long-term care need are supported. The definition of a dependant can include a family member like a spouse, civil partner, child or parent but also extends to anyone who relies on the employee for care, such as an elderly neighbour. This entitlement applies to all employees, including part time employees, from their very first day of work. However, the duration of the leave period changes for part-time employees; the allowance of one week is intended for full-time workers and carer’s leave for part-time workers needs to be calculated on a prorated basis.

To qualify, the employee must be providing care for a dependant who:

• Has a disability as defined under the Equality Act 2010
• Has a physical or mental illness or injury that requires care for at least three months 
• Is needing care due to old age

The care need must be long-term, but there is no requirement for the employee to provide medical evidence or documentation. However, the employee must not have exceeded their carer’s leave entitlement within the previous 12 months. 

Creating a carer’s leave policy

Even though this is not a legal obligation, you might choose to pay your employees during their carer’s leave. You could also offer a longer period of leave beyond the statutory minimum to give them greater flexibility in managing their caring responsibilities. If you chose to provide anything beyond the statutory minimum, it’s a good idea to draw up a carer’s leave policy for your workplace so that existing employees and job candidates are clear on the details in advance. When developing your policy, consider how it applies to different working hours, including part-time and irregular schedules, to guarantee fair and accessible support for all employees.  As an example, your carer’s leave policy could combine a mix of paid emergency leave and paid planned leave, such as 15 carer’s leave days off a year, with a split of ten days of paid emergency leave and five days of paid planned leave.

Leaves similar to carer’s leave

In addition to carer’s leave, there are other situations in which your employees are entitled to take time off. These are:

1. Time off for dependant family members

The UK government states that employees can take a set amount of time off each year for dependants during an emergency or an unforeseen situation that requires their attention. While the duration is undefined, this leave is intended to be used for short periods only. If the employee needs an extended period of time off to help a family member, they will have to take annual leave instead or parental leave, if they are looking after a child and meet other qualifying factors for this leave type.

2. Compassionate leave

Compassionate leave is a similar leave type that is not limited to emergencies or situations involving dependants. A common example of compassionate leave is when an employee experiences the death of a loved one and requires time off for grieving, making funeral-related arrangements or attending a memorial. 

Like carer’s leave, these similar leave types can also be paid or unpaid, and the terms and duration are at your discretion. 

Why is it beneficial to create a carer’s leave policy?

Even though a week of unpaid carer’s leave is now a statutory right, creating a carer’s leave policy that goes above and beyond your legal obligations can have several benefits. Your employees may be increasingly taking on additional caring duties at home, and if they are juggling this responsibility on top of working for you, they may not have the energy left over to perform at their best, which can lead to chronic stress, illnesses and burnout. Another factor to consider is the cost of living crisis – depending on your industry and the employee’s role, the affected worker may not be able to afford to take unpaid carer’s leave, even if they need it. 

Creating a carer’s leave policy can take some of the burden off your employees with a generous allowance that combines paid and unpaid time off to spend on their caring duties. Having a dedicated policy in place also means that you are potentially more likely to retain employees and attract top talent. It can help your workplace culture become more inclusive, making your open roles attractive to candidates who otherwise may feel that they have too many additional caring responsibilities at home to take on the position. 

By providing a substantial carer’s leave via a policy that leads with compassion, you can help reduce employee turnover and attract new talent. If your company is going above and beyond its legal obligations, it’s a good idea to include this information in your employee handbook or welcome pack so your employees know what to expect if they need to take time off and can make leave requests with peace of mind.