The Carers Leave Act

As early as April 2024, all UK employers will be required to offer their employees up to one week’s unpaid leave per year to provide or arrange care for a dependent. The amount of days this ‘week’ refers to depends entirely on your usual working week. E.g You are able to take five days if you work a 5-day working week. This leave can be taken non-continuously, meaning that you don’t have to take it all at once to provide or arrange care for a dependent.

Now, if you’re wondering what a dependent is defined as, a dependent is described in the act as the following:

1. a spouse, civil partner, child or parent of the employee;
2. someone who lives in the same house as the employee (other than as a boarder, employee, lodger or tenant); or
3. someone who reasonably relies on the employee to provide or arrange care.

The Act is estimated to directly impact up to 2 million employees currently juggling paid employment and caregiving responsibilities. It’s a seminal moment for care and clearly many companies, HR, Benefits and Reward professionals are proactively looking to deepen their understanding.

What does The Carers Leave Act mean for employees?

Dedicated leave. Care has never had its own dedicated period of leave. This is a huge step to recognise those caregivers in the workplace.

Greater flexibility. Previously, caregivers would have had to take sick or annual leave to accommodate immediate eldercare concerns. However, this now gives more flexibility for carers when they need it.

Attitude shift. Eldercare is now seen as more of a spoken about topic in the workplace. This new law changes views and creates more transparency for those with eldercare concerns.

What does The Carers Leave Act mean for employers?

Greater preparation. All HR managers will have to be on top of these new laws and ensure they aren’t caught out. Early preparation means that employees know exactly what they are entitled to and how they can be supported.

Significant obligation. Employers are now asked to provide a week's leave for elderly caregivers as a bare minimum. Recognising and respecting those caregivers in the workplace will make the process a lot easier.

Further support. Although a week’s leave is the statutory minimum, employers must think about how else they can support caregivers in the workplace. Providing further support and benefits will boost recruitment and retention.

Culture change. This new law should help recognise and celebrate carers in the workplace. Employers who embrace this law, building carers networks and opening up new avenues of support will create a more empathetic culture.

How should an employee ask their manager for Carers Leave?

Whilst there’s still very little detail about how the act will work specifically, we know that it is another form of non-continuous leave. This means we anticipate it will work similar to other types of leave. The employee will have to give reasonable notice to their employer and will be subject to their approval. Proof isn’t necessarily required from the employee, although it is at the discretion of the employer.

If the employee needs to take very sudden leave, emergency leave is still the most prime option and then carers leave can be organised later.

What happens if an employee is refused Carers Leave?

An employer is very unlikely to refuse leave, however, you can never say never. If an employer refuses an employee Carers Leave, the employee will be able to raise the case to an employment tribunal. The employer will have to incur the fees of defending and pay the necessary compensation costs if the claim is successful.

It goes without saying that an employment tribunal is poor for employee relations and can have very negative PR implications for the organisation itself. The best results usually stem from open and transparent discussions between the two parties to avoid any tribunal claims.

Should organisations offer more than the statutory Carers Leave?

Technically, organisations are only legally required to offer basic statutory leave - one week unpaid leave. However, it’s very likely that many forward-thinking organisations will use the Carers Leave Act as a platform to create a more generous policy on carers leave.

A big issue for many organisations is the retention of staff and attracting the best talent for recruitment. If organisations decide to offer more enhanced entitlements. e.g. extra paid leave or longer than a week, with wider support from benefit packages are likely to attract and retain the best talent.

Should employers start preparing now for Carers Leave changes?

The Carers Leave Act is unlikely to take effect until April 2024, however, there’s no harm in preparing now. It can take a long time to get stakeholder approval and to implement these policies in a workplace. Whether an organisation wants to offer more than the statutory leave, it’s still vital that every organisation considers their position regarding entitlement. Of course, there may be small changes to the act which will make you amend or tweak policies, but there should be very little to stop employers discussing with employees how they want to feel most supported.

What can HR & Benefits Managers do to get ahead of The Carers Leave Act?

The Carers Leave Act is a huge opportunity for those employers who pride themselves on being forward-thinking and truly caring about their employees. They can exceed expectations by implementing their own policies and accompanying benefits that go above and beyond the Carers Leave Act.

Every business operates differently, but by exploring what is possible for your organisation you will be able to identify if you can offer support that goes beyond the act itself. Yes, this may include extra budget allocation to be able to offer 1 weeks paid leave or extending it to 10 days unpaid leave, but the effect could be hugely impactful.

It is very important to understand care is not linear, it is extremely complex. So giving employees the support through the tumultuous times is a start. But realistically, employers also need to think about who is going to be there for the employees to lean on for advice, guidance and expertise. Can employers help save their employees time, stress and money through their policies and benefits design?

The HR, Benefits & Reward professionals that are proactive, will reap the rewards by April 2024 when others are scrambling to meet the bare minimum and their organisation has prepared to exceed this.

Is The Carers Leave Act enough?

In short, no. The unpaid aspect of the act is actually quite prohibitive as some employees will not actually be able to take it without a detrimental effect to their income. Although the leave can be taken non-continuously (not in one go), one week to either provide or arrange care for a loved one isn’t enough.

But it does provide the recognition and foundation that unpaid carers need. Making carers leave an important agenda in the workplace is hugely positive. This, combined with the next flexible-working bill is a step in the right direction. At the very least it gives employees more dignity and recognition of their responsibilities outside of work. It’s only the start of the conversation, but an incredibly important one.