A new statutory carer’s leave entitlement comes into force in the UK on 6 April 2024, after the Carer’s Leave Act 2023 received Royal Assent in December and regulations passed Parliament this week.
The legislation entitles employees in England, Wales and Scotland up to a week of unpaid leave each year to look after someone who relies on them because they are ill, have an injury, are disabled or have care needs because of their age. It will be a day-one right, meaning there is no requirement for a certain length of service.
According to the charity Carers UK, around 9% of people are providing unpaid care to a dependant, meaning a large proportion of the workforce could be affected.
Helen Walker, chief executive of Carers UK, said: “Passing the regulations associated with the Carer’s Leave Act is a vital moment – setting in stone the process for working carers requesting carer’s leave from their employer. This brand new right will help many more carers stay in work, and support businesses to retain their staff too.”
How does carer’s leave work?
Employees will be able to take up to a week every 12 months, with a ‘week’ meaning the length of time they normally work over seven days. So if someone usually works three days a week, they can take three pro-rated days of carer’s leave in a year. This can be taken all at once, as half days or full days.
Carer’s leave cannot be used to provide general childcare but can be for a child who has long-term health or disability-related care needs. This is covered by unpaid parental leave.
The amount of leave does not increase if the employee has more than one dependant in need of care, it is still a maximum of one working week every 12 months.
Carer’s Leave Act 2023
The Carer’s Leave Bill was laid before parliament in its draft form in December 2023 and was finalised on 27 February so employers can now implement changes to their policies.
Carer’s leave entitlement
The Carer’s Leave Act 2023 states that leave is available to employees who need to give or arrange care for a dependant who has:
- A physical or mental illness or injury that means they need care for more than three months
- A disability as defined by the Equality Act 2010
- Care needs because of their old age.
A dependant is defined as an employee’s spouse, civil partner, child or parent, any person who lives in the same household as the employee (other than as a lodger or similar), or any other person who would reasonably rely on the employee to provide or arrange care. This does not have to be a family member.
Do employees have to show proof?
Under the Carer’s Leave Act, employers cannot ask for evidence relating to an employee’s caring responsibilities, or ask how the worker intends to use their leave, due to data protection issues around handling sensitive personal or medical data.
They could, however, take a positive approach that allows staff to self-identify as carers, for example by including a question on caring responsibilities in staff surveys. National Carers Week in June 2024 could be a good time to promote open conversations about being a carer.
Another option is to ask employees to complete a self-certification form declaring that they are a carer taking time off. Having a clear definition of what counts as a carer can help.
Preparing line managers for carer’s leave requests
While having a policy in place is helpful, offering training on carer’s leave entitlements to line managers will ensure it is implemented appropriately “on the ground”.
For example, although managers must not ask what activities the leave will be used for or for evidence of the caring needs, it might be helpful to offer them some examples of how the leave might be used.
Possible reasons might be settling official matters such as pensions or legal documents, dealing with care homes or social services, or taking someone to a medical appointment.
Some employers have introduced a carer’s passport, where an employee can share their responsibilities with a manager via an editable document, and update their circumstances as needed.
What should we include in a carer’s leave policy?
A carer’s leave policy should set out how an employer will deal with any requests for unpaid carer’s leave, and include elements such as:
- Clear definitions of carers and dependants
- Whether the leave is paid or unpaid
- How much leave an employee can take
- How much notice they should give
- Examples of caring responsibilities
- Information about support available via external organisations or resources
- Information about other relevant rights or working arrangements, such as flexible working.
Employers should review their policies against the Carer’s Leave Regulations 2024. In addition to a policy, organisations could create a form for employees to complete should they wish to take leave.
How much notice must employees give for carer’s leave?
An employee must give notice if they intend to take carer’s leave, specifying that they are eligible for the leave and the day(s) they intend to take it. The notice should be twice as many days as the number of days requested, or three days if the leave is longer, but employers can waive this requirement if they wish.
Carers leave entitlement in the UK
How to support working carers in your organisation
Employees needing to take emergency time off may be better off using their right to time off for dependants. Carer’s leave is designed to cover planned time off to look after dependants.
Can we refuse a request for carer’s leave?
Once a request has been submitted by an employee for carer’s leave, it cannot be refused. It can, however, be postponed if operations would be unduly disrupted.
If that decision is taken, the employer has to provide written notice of the reasons for postponement and suggest some revised dates. Ideally, any re-arrangement would happen in consultation with the employee.
What rights do employees have who take carer’s leave?
As with other family-friendly rights, employees have the right to return to the same job after a period of carer’s leave, and the terms of their contract should remain unchanged.
They are also protected from detriment and dismissal – so if they were dismissed for taking or requesting this type of leave, this would automatically be deemed unfair.
Is carer’s leave paid? Can we offer enhanced benefits?
Under the carer’s leave legislation, the leave entitlement is for one working week and is unpaid. However, just like other forms of leave, employers can offer more than the statutory one week of leave, and choose to pay employees when carers leave the workplace for a period to look after family or friends. Some UK employers already offer enhanced carer’s leave as part of their family-friendly policies.
Offering paid carer’s leave instead of the statutory unpaid carer’s leave, or providing a longer carer’s leave entitlement can have benefits such as improved retention, reduced absence (as employees do not need to take sickness absence to look after dependants), and improved wellbeing.
What other options are available for carers?
Because caring responsibilities can ebb and flow depending on a range of health and personal factors, employees may want to draw on different policies to support their needs.
Managers could point employees who are carers to their flexible working rights, which also change on 6 April 2024 to offer a day-one right to request flexible work. Other options might include working remotely, changing their working hours to part-time, or working compressed hours.
The organisation could also offer compassionate leave or an extended period of unpaid annual leave if circumstances require it.
Carer’s leave in Northern Ireland
The Carer’s Leave Act 2023 extends to England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. However, the Carer’s Leave Regulations 2024 only apply to England, Wales and Scotland, as employment law is devolved in Northern Ireland.
Now that the Northern Ireland Executive is back up and running, it will be up to the Northern Ireland Assembly to decide whether to implement similar provisions in NI and there are no plans at present.
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