Carer’s Leave

The government have recently introduced a new statutory entitlement to one week’s unpaid Carer’s Leave, which came into effect on 6 April 2024.

When does a carer become eligible for leave?

It is available to eligible employees from the first day of their employment, meaning unpaid carers will be supported regardless of how long they’ve worked with their employer. 

Who will qualify for Carer’s Leave?

This right only applies to people with employee status, so workers and self-employed individuals are not included. 

What is the definition of a Carer?

These employees must be unpaid carers, and the person they provide care to must be someone with a long-term mental or physical health condition. For example, a person with a long-term illness or injury covered as a disability under the Equality Act 2010, or issues relating to old age. The relationship between the employee and this person will follow what is already in place for the right to time off for dependants. Namely, a spouse or civil partner; child; parent; person who lives in the same household (but is not a tenant, lodger, or boarder); or a person who relies on them for care such as an elderly neighbour.

How can Carer’s Leave be taken?

Staff will be able to take the leave flexibly to suit their caring responsibilities and will not need to provide evidence of how the leave is used or who it will be used for, ensuring a smoother process for both businesses and their employees.  Leave can be taken either in half-days, full days, or a block of one week. 

Should an employee give notice?

The length of notice to be given is double the amount of time that an employee wants to take off as carer’s leave in that instance, or three days, whichever is longer.

Can I refuse a request?

An employer can decide to postpone a request for carer’s leave for up to one month, if they reasonably consider that the operation of their business would be unduly disrupted if the leave was taken at the time it has been asked for. 

Is Carer’s Leave protected?

Employees taking their carer’s leave entitlement will be subject to the same employment protections that are associated with other forms of family related leave, such as maternity leave, meaning they will be protected from dismissal or any detriment because of having taken time off.

Refusing carer’s leave or failing to comply with the new statutory entitlement could lead to costly tribunal claims for organisations. As well as breaching employees’ statutory rights, there could be the risk of discrimination (including associative discrimination) claims if the employee is placed at a detriment for needing to take carer’s leave. 

Associative disability discrimination claims can be made when an employee is treated unfavourably due to their relationship with someone who has a disability. There could be an increased risk of constructive dismissal claims if the employee feels that they can’t work somewhere anymore because their employer refuses the leave.

Managing Carer’s Leave

Managers already aware of employees with caring responsibilities should consider that they may request unpaid carer’s leave, so should be prepared to accommodate it.

Carer’s leave should not be included in absence triggers for disciplinary action. Doing so could further increase the risk of tribunal claims. But it’s important that employers keep track of how much carer’s leave an employee takes, to make sure they don’t exceed their entitlement of one week per year. Managers with grounds to believe their employee is unreasonably requesting or taking carer’s leave can discuss their concerns with them, and subsequently decide what action to take. Placing someone at a detriment, including giving them a warning or dismissing, can lead to unfair dismissal and discrimination claims. 

However, if a full process has been completed and there are no satisfactory explanations for utilising statutory carer’s leave, employers can follow their usual disciplinary policies to determine an appropriate outcome.

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