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A Guide to the Carer's Leave Act

A transparent guide to the Carer’s Leave Act in the UK, and how it can help improve the working life of family caregivers looking after older loved ones.

What is the Carer’s Leave Act? 

The Carer’s Leave Act is a law that came into force from the 6th April 2024, allowing part-time and full-time employees in England, Wales and Scotland to take up to one week of unpaid leave from work per year if they need to care for, or arrange care for, a family member or dependent with a long-term care need.

The goal with this legislation is to protect the jobs of caregivers, help them to find work-life balance, and avoid carer burnout while looking after a dependent. This week of unpaid leave can be taken all at once, or individual days as needed. It is intended for planned and foreseen caring needs, rather than emergency needs, for which carers have a legal right to take time off regardless of the Carer’s Leave Act.

What are the benefits of the Carer’s Leave Act?

The Carer’s Leave Act has many benefits for employees, such as:

  • Job protection while off work for caring responsibilities, from the first day of employment
  • Reduced stress by increased flexibility — research suggests 73% of carers in employment said they found it stressful to juggle work and care
  • Improved wellbeing — research suggests 79%of carers feel stressed or anxious, 49% feel depressed, and 54% say their health has suffered, so this can help them find balance
  • Not having to use sick days or annual leave for caregiving
  • More awareness of caregiver needs within the workplace

Reduced likelihood of experiencing carer burnout — research shows1.7 million peoplein the UK provide 50+ hours of care per week, so this could have a huge impact

In what situations would the Carer’s Leave Act apply? 

The Carer’s Leave Act applies when an employee needs time off to care for a dependent with a long-term care need. For clarity, a dependentis:

  • A spouse, civil partner, child or parent of the employee
  • Someone who lives in the employee’s house (excluding boarders, tenants, etc.)
  • Someone who relies on the employee to provide or arrange care

A long-term care need is:

  • A physical or mental injury that needs (or will need) care for over 3 months
  • A disability as covered by the Equality Act 2010
  • Any condition that requires care for a reason connected to their old age

The Carer’s Leave Act is designed to help in caring scenarios like taking someone to a GP appointment, helping with personal care needs, helping to arrange healthcare visits, and more.

How to utilise the Carer’s Leave Act 

To make use of the Carer’s Leave Act if you need to, you must:

  • Notify your employer in advance (at least three days in advance for a half day or single day of leave, and at least twice as many days as your requested leave period if applying for two or more consecutive days of leave)
  • Fill in any forms your employer requires of you
  • Provide details about the caregiving needs you are covering, including the relationship to the dependent and their situation
  • Let your employer know how long you expect to be away from work
  • Provide documentation like medical certificates (if relevant) — this may only be asked in certain circumstances

Remember, you can take this leave as a half or full day, and up to one whole week per year, so use it as and when needed.

How can Home Instead help?

Many people do not realise they are in a caring role; 71% of carers say being a family member or friend made it difficult for them to identify as a carer. If you look after a loved one who relies on you and you are not being paid, you could benefit from the Carer’s Leave Act. 

In addition, professional home care could step in with respite care any time you are experiencing carer burnout. At Home Instead, we regularly support family caregivers by filling in any gaps when regular caregivers are unavailable or need additional help. We are proudly rated 9.6 on Homecare.co.uk, with many of our locations also rated “outstanding” by the Care Quality Commission (CQC), so no matter what kind of care your loved one needs, we can help.