Glossary · UK
What is Carer's Leave?
A day-one statutory right for employees with a dependant who has a long-term care need to take up to one week of unpaid leave per year to provide or arrange care.
Full Definition
Carer's Leave, introduced from 6 April 2024 under the Carer's Leave Act 2023, gives employees a statutory right to take up to one week (calculated as the employee's total normal working hours in a week, however that is spread across days) of leave per rolling 12-month period to provide or arrange care for a dependant with a long-term care need. It is a day-one right, meaning there is no minimum length of service required to qualify, unlike many other family-related leave entitlements. A "long-term care need" is broadly defined as a condition expected to last more than three months, a disability under the Equality Act 2010, or care needs associated with old age. The leave can be taken as individual days or half-days, in one block, or across the year as needed, up to the one-week annual maximum, and can be used flexibly for purposes such as attending medical appointments with the dependant, arranging care services, or simply providing care personally. Employees must give notice of at least twice the length of leave requested plus one day (for example, at least three days' notice for one and a half days of leave), and do not need to provide evidence of the caring responsibility, though employers can ask for basic information such as the relationship to the dependant. Carer's Leave is unpaid unless an employer chooses to offer pay as an enhanced benefit, which distinguishes it from Statutory Sick Pay or Statutory Parental Bereavement Pay. Employees are protected from being subjected to a detriment or being dismissed for taking or requesting Carer's Leave, and time taken counts towards continuity of employment in the same way as other forms of statutory leave. Employers can postpone (but not refuse outright) a request where the business reasonably cannot accommodate the specific dates, provided the leave is rescheduled within a month of the original request and the employee is consulted. The right sits alongside, and is distinct from, the separate statutory right to request flexible working and the (means-tested, non-employment) state Carer's Allowance benefit.