Carer’s Rights Day – Know Your Rights With Carer’s Leave

TO MARK Carer’s Rights Day (21 November), Francesca Lilley, associate in the employment law team at Knights, has shared her expertise on how employers must comply with the introduction of day one rights to unpaid carer’s leave.

“Following announcements of intent over the years, and consultation, the law now recognises the vital role unpaid carer’s play in providing essential care and support to family and loved ones, and that many carers fit this in around their ‘paid’ work. The Carer’s Leave Act 2023 received Royal Assent on 24 May 2023, and the regulations that followed, the Carer’s Leave Regulations 2024, set out the detail of the new statutory right to take unpaid carer’s leave in England, Scotland and Wales to look after a dependant. The regulations came into force on 6 April 2024, and crucially, are a day one right.

“The Regulations provide for leave to be taken flexibly, in either individual days or half days, for up to a block of one week. Equally, thought has been given to the notice requirements with the required notice period being either twice as many days as the period of leave required, or three days, whichever is the greater. For example, half a day of leave requires one day of notice, or 2.5 days’ leave would require 6 days’ notice. Employees are also free from any statutory request formalities, with requests being acceptable verbally or in writing, and there are no requirements to evidence the entitlement to leave. The administrative burden is refreshingly light, a relief to both employees and employers.

“The regulations do not force an employer to agree to the leave exactly as requested.  The employer may suggest the leave is postponed and taken at a different time in limited circumstances (for example where the business would be unduly disrupted). The request cannot however be declined.

“While the period of leave is unpaid, employees are entitled to the benefit of all other terms and conditions of employment, and remain subject to all their usual obligations. Employees are also protected from detriment and dismissal because they took or sought to take carer’s leave.

“The Labour Government has committed to reviewing the leave provisions and consider the benefits of introducing paid carer’s leave. Guidance for employers has been provided by the Government and ACAS, for a useful source of information which covers the basic rights, see https://www.gov.uk/carers-leave.”

Further clarification of the regulations for The Carer’s Leave Act 2023

The right to one week’s unpaid leave

• Where an employee has a dependant with a long-term care need, they may take one week’s unpaid leave to provide or arrange care in each rolling 12-month period, with a ‘week’ being the length of time an employee usually works over 7 days. If an employee works a 3-day week, they can take 3 days of carer’s leave. Where an employee has irregular hours, the number of hours in the previous 12 months is totalled, and then divided by 52 weeks, or less if under 1 year’s employment, to calculate a weeks’ leave.
• The maximum amount of leave is one week, even where the employee has multiple dependants.

What is the leave for?

• Leave may be taken for providing care, or making necessary arrangements for the provision of care, or, for example, for providing care for someone who reasonably depends on the employee for care while their primary unpaid carer is taking respite.
• Employees are free to use their discretion to decide when and what care is required and the regulations do not limit the caring activities.
• Employees can self-certify their eligibility for carer’s leave.

Not just for family

• A ‘dependant’ is a spouse, civil partner, child or parent of the employee, or a person who lives in the same household as the employee, (but not a boarder, employee, lodger or tenant), or they reasonably rely on the employee to provide or arrange care.
• A dependant has a ‘long-term care need’ if any of the following apply:

• They have an illness or injury (whether physical or mental) that requires, or is likely to require, care for more than three months.
• They have a disability for the purposes of the Equality Act 2010.
• They require care for a reason connected with their old age.