Thursday 21 November 2024 is Carers’ Rights Day, which seeks to bring awareness to the rights of the UK’s millions of unpaid carers. This blog sets out your legal obligations as well as how you can provide support to staff with caring responsibilities.
Carer’s leave
What is carer’s leave?
Employees are entitled to unpaid time off in order to provide or arrange care for a dependent in need of long-term care. This is referred to as ‘carer’s leave’. A dependent is anyone who relies on your employee for care; this might be a family member or a neighbour, for example.
How much leave are carers entitled to?
All employees have the right to take one week of unpaid carer’s leave per year. Leave entitlement is calculated based on the hours that your employee normally works per week:
- Full-time employees are entitled to one full week (five working days).
- Part-time employees are entitled to a proportionate amount of leave based on their usual working hours. For example, a part-time employee who works four days per week would be entitled to four days of carer’s leave per year.
- Employees with variable working hours are entitled to leave equivalent to their average working period per week over the last 52 weeks.
The leave does not need to be taken as consecutive days (but it can be taken as a whole week). Employees can choose to take full days or half days.
See Staff handbook and policies for a template policy on time off for caring responsibilities, that you can customise for your business.
Who is eligible for carer’s leave?
Carer’s leave is only available to employees.
Agency workers, casual workers and freelancers are not entitled to this type of leave; any time off in emergency situations will therefore be subject to your agreement and may need to be taken as holiday leave (in the case of agency workers, the arrangements will usually need to be made with their agency).
See Agency workers, Casual workers (including zero-hours workers) and Freelancers (self-employed staff) for further information about using these types of workers and Dealing with annual leave for further information about entitlement to holiday leave.
How much notice do employees need to give if they are applying for carer’s leave?
Employees requesting carer’s leave are required to provide notice of at least twice the amount of time they wish to take off or three days in advance (whichever is earlier). For example:
- if an employee wants to take one week of leave, they must give at least two weeks’ notice.
- if an employee wants to take one day of leave, they must give at least three days’ notice.
You are not allowed to ask for evidence in relation to the request for carer’s leave before granting the request; you cannot demand proof that the employee’s dependent requires care.
Can carer’s leave be postponed?
If you reasonably consider that your business would be seriously disrupted if the employee took carer’s leave during the requested period, you may postpone the leave for no more than one month from the start date of the original request. You must inform your employee in writing that their leave is being postponed and advise them of the new dates. You must give this notice no more than seven days after you receive the notice, or by the day before the original start date of the request (whichever is earlier).
Are employees who take carer’s leave protected from unfair treatment?
Employees who take their legally entitled carer’s leave are protected from unfair dismissal and/or any detriment due to them taking carer’s leave (or as a result of you believing they are likely to take carer’s leave in the future).
Do I have to pay employees who are taking time off to care for a sick relative?
No; you are not required to pay staff members who take this type of leave, although you may choose to do so. Our template policy (see Staff handbook and policies) includes optional wording if you do choose to pay staff who take this type of leave.
You are required to provide employees with written details about any paid leave they are entitled to either on or before their first day of work. See Employment contracts for further guidance.
How much time can a carer take to deal with an emergency situation?
Employees are entitled to take time off work in order to deal with emergency situations involving their dependents, including illness.
The employee must explain to you as soon as possible the reasons for their absence and how long they expect to be off work. If the employee is unable to provide a reason immediately, they should inform you as soon as they return to work.
Employees are entitled to take a reasonable amount of time off to deal with emergencies, but there is no formal limit on how long or how often an employee may take time off for this reason. If the taking of emergency leave becomes a persistent issue then you should discuss the matter with the employee to find a longer-term solution.
You should set out your policy for dealing with time off for caring responsibilities in your staff handbook. Our template Staff handbook and HR policies includes suggested policy wording to deal with emergencies (you can choose to generate a policy on its own or as part of a larger staff handbook).
Another option to deal with short-term situations involving an employee’s child is for the employee to take parental leave. For a long-term solution, flexible working arrangements could be considered.
Parental leave
Eligible employees are entitled to take up to 18 weeks’ unpaid parental leave up until the child’s 18th birthday to look after their child. This is separate to carer’s leave.
Up to four weeks’ leave can be taken per year, per child. The general rule is that each period of leave must be taken in blocks of one or more whole weeks (unless the child has a disability).
For more on parental leave, see our Q&A here.
Flexible working
Employees with caring responsibilities may also request flexible working arrangements. Employees and apprentices have the right to request flexible working from their first day of employment. The right does not apply if the staff member has made two or more formal flexible working requests to you during the preceding 12 months, but you can choose to consider additional requests.
You must consider these requests seriously. However, you are not required to grant every request and can refuse on business grounds. Once you receive a formal application for flexible working, you have two months from the date you received it in which to reach a decision, notify your employee of your decision and conduct any appeals process that you have (unless you both agree to an extension of this period).
You can use Flexible working toolkit to help you deal with a request. This toolkit includes all the documentation and guidance you need to carry out a full, fair process.
Conclusion
Carers’ Rights Day serves as an important reminder of the invaluable role caregivers play in society. As an employer, you can support carers by ensuring employees are aware of their rights and supporting them where possible.
The content in this article is up to date at the date of publishing. The information provided is intended only for information purposes, and is not for the purpose of providing legal advice. Sparqa Legal’s Terms of Use apply.
Becca joined Sparqa Legal as a Legal Editor in 2024 after transferring from FromCounsel. She previously worked as a caseworker at Advocate, the bar’s pro bono charity. Becca regularly writes for Sparqa’s blog, covering topics including employment, health and safety, intellectual property, and company law.