Carer’s Leave

This note explains the key things you need to know about carer’s leave and answers some of the questions you may have.

Carer’s Leave – Key Information

• Employees are able to take carer’s leave where the reason for the time off is to provide or arrange care for a dependant with a long-term care need.
• Employees have this right from day one of their employment.
• The maximum amount of leave an employee can take is one week in any 12-month rolling period. The minimum amount of any period of carer’s leave is half a day.
• You are required to give notice to your employer when you want to take carer’s leave. You need to give twice as many days’ notice as the length of the leave itself, but the minimum amount of notice you can give is three days. However, an employer can waive the notice requirement if it wishes.
• Provided you meet the relevant conditions, your employer cannot decline a request by you to take carer’s leave, but they can postpone the leave for up to a month if certain criteria are met (see our FAQs below for further detail).
• Time off work for carer’s leave is unpaid. However, your employer may offer its own paid scheme allowing you to take time off to provide care, so it is worth checking with them. The rules and eligibility requirements may be different to carer’s leave. If your employer does offer its own more generous scheme which you use, you cannot then also take carer’s leave.
• Although statutory carer’s leave is unpaid, your other terms and conditions of employment will remain the same while you are off work.
• You are protected against dismissal or detrimental treatment from your employer that is related to you taking or seeking to take carer’s leave. This includes where you make use of your employer’s own scheme.

ACAS have produced guidance on carer’s leave which you can find here.

FAQs

Who can I use Carer’s leave to look after or arrange care for?

This needs to be a dependant with a long-term care need. A dependant is either:

1. your spouse, civil partner, child or parent; or
2. someone who lives in the same household as you (but not because they are your tenant, lodger or similar) or who reasonably relies on you to provide or arrange care.

A dependant has a long-term care need if:

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

If the person you are caring or arranging care for does not fall within these criteria then you will not be able to use carer’s leave, but if your employer offers their own scheme then different rules may apply.

If I work part-time, how does that affect how much carer’s leave I can take?

The general rule is that the maximum amount of carer’s leave you can take should be equivalent to your normal working week and will be pro-rated according to the number of days you work per week. For example, if you always work three days per week (0.6 x 5 ) then the maximum amount of carer’s leave you can take in any rolling 12-month period is three days. There are separate rules for employees where the amount of time they work each week varies. Your employer should be able to assist you with calculating how much carer’s leave you can take.

Do I have to take all the carer’s leave in one go?

No, carer’s leave can be taken in chunks. For example, you could take one day one week and then another day the next. The important thing is that you cannot take (in total) more than a week of carer’s leave in any rolling 12-month period.

Is there anything I need to include when I notify my employer that I want to take carer’s leave?

Yes, your notification needs to include the information below:

• that you are entitled to carer’s leave; and

• the days on which you wish to take carer’s leave.

We recommend you notify your employer of this information in writing.

Can my employer ask me to provide evidence when I notify them of my intention to take carer’s leave?

No, your employer cannot ask you for evidence. However, an employer is likely to consider it to be a disciplinary matter if an employee uses carer’s leave other than for its intended purpose.

In what circumstances can my employer postpone my carer’s leave?

When you request to take carer’s leave, your employer can postpone the dates of the leave if all the below criteria are met. Your employer cannot decline your request altogether.

The criteria are that your employer:

• reasonably considers that the operation of the business would be unduly disrupted if it allowed the leave during the requested period;
• allows you to take carer’s leave for the same duration as requested, within a month of the dates initially requested; and
• gives you a written notice within seven days of the initial request (or, if earlier, before the first day you had requested to take as carer’s leave), setting out the reason for the postponement and the agreed dates on which the leave can be taken.

How does this affect other types of leave I might be eligible for?

Carer’s leave is separate from unpaid parental leave and the right to take time off for dependants. Please see our guidance notes on these types of leave. Which type of leave is best to use at any given time will depend on the circumstances and eligibility requirements. We have provided some examples below to show when the different types of leave might be used.

Scenario 1: your young child has had an accident at nursery while you are at work, and you need to take them to A&E.

In this situation, it is likely that you would exercise the right to take time off for dependants. This is because carer’s leave and unpaid parental leave require the employee to provide notice to their employer in advance.

Scenario 2: you have a parent who is cared for at a specialist care facility, but their condition has now worsened and they need to be moved into a new facility. You need to take a week off work to support them and arrange for them to move into the new facility.

In this situation, it is likely you would use carer’s leave. The right to take time off for dependants may apply depending on the circumstances, but this would partly depend on whether it is strictly necessary to take the whole week off. It may therefore be preferable to use carer’s leave instead. It would not be possible to use parental leave as this only allows time off to care for a child.

Scenario 3: your child is on their summer holidays from school and you are not able to get any childcare for two weeks out of the six, so you need to look after them during this period.

In this situation, it is likely you would use parental leave given the length of time needing to be taken off.

This advice applies in England, Wales and Scotland. If you live in another part of the UK, the law may differ. If you are in Northern Ireland you can visit the Labour Relations Agency or call their helpline Workplace Information Service on 03300 555 300.

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