Government confirms it will introduce new right to unpaid carer's leave

The Government has confirmed that it will introduce a new statutory right of up to one week (five working days) of unpaid carer’s leave for employees in England, Wales and Scotland.

This was proposed in 2019 and was confirmed in September 2021 after a consultation with more than 800 responses.

This new right is in recognition to juggling caring responsibilities with work, which can limit the participation of unpaid carers in the labour market. Research shows there are 5 million people in the UK providing unpaid care, with nearly half of these also employed. As the UK is an ageing population, it is anticipated that the number of unpaid carers will increase. Although this will mean greater employee absence for businesses, it should bring benefits such as employee loyalty, reduced staff turnover, increased productivity and enhanced reputation.

The right to unpaid carer leave will be:

• Available to all employees, regardless of how long they have been with their current employer
• Used to care for a ‘dependant’ eg a spouse, partner, civil partner, child, parent
• Used for a dependant who has a long-term care need, defined as long-term illness or injury (physical or mental), disability or issues relating to old age

The carers’ unpaid leave should be used to focus on long-term care needs. The leave can be taken in individual half-days, whole days or a block of one week. Notice must be given prior to the leave and the notice period required is twice the length of the leave being requested plus one day. Employers are able to postpone, but not deny, a request for carers leave, but only when they consider the operation of their business be unduly disrupted by it.

Employees taking such leave will be protected from detriments and therefore any employee who is dismissed for a reason connected with exercising such leave could be deemed to have been automatically unfairly dismissed.

The statutory right to carer’s leave will be brought forward “when Parliamentary time allows”.

If you have any questions about unpaid carers leave, or any other employment query, please contact our team here.