Carer's Leave 2024 Guide: Legal Advice for Employers

April brings a raft of changes to employment law, including the new right to take carer’s leave. This is effective from 6th April and is implemented under the Carer’s Leave Regulations 2024.

What is carer’s leave?
Carer’s leave introduces the entitlement to take one week’s unpaid leave per year, to provide or arrange care for a dependant who has a ‘long-term’ care need. This extends the existing right to take leave in unforeseen circumstances, for example, when a child is ill, requiring a carer to make immediate care arrangements.

Who is a dependant?
The right applies not only in respect of family members, including a spouse, civil partner, child or parent, but also extends to someone who lives in the same household as the employee, (but isn’t a boarder, employee, lodger or tenant) and who reasonably relies on the employee to provide or arrange their care.

What counts as a long-term care need?
Generally, a dependent has a long-term care need if they have a disability or are elderly. More specifically, they:

have a physical or mental illness or injury which means they need, or are expected to need, care for more than three months;
have a disability, as defined by the Equality Act 2010; or
need care for a reason connected with their old age.

How does an employee qualify for carer’s leave?
This is a ‘day-one’ right, meaning that an employee with a qualifying dependent can request the right to take leave from the first day of their employment.

How much carer’s leave can a qualifying employee take?
One week’s leave every 12 months. This can be taken in one block or spread over the course of the year.
What constitutes a ‘week’ will vary depending on a person’s work pattern but, generally speaking, one week will be the number of days an employee usually works – or will be expected to work – over a seven-day period.

Is an employee able to take more than one week’s carer’s leave if they have more than one dependant?
It seems not. The right is to take one week’s leave, irrespective of whether the employee is caring for one or multiple dependants.

What’s the process for requesting carer’s leave?
A request doesn’t have to be in writing, but the employee must give the correct amount of notice. If the employee wants to take a day, or half a day, they need to give at least three days’ notice. For a longer period of leave, it’s twice the number of days – so, for example, at least six days’ notice to take three days’ leave.

Can an employer refuse a request for carer’s leave?
An employer can’t decline a request altogether, but they can postpone it where all of the following apply:

the employer reasonably considers the request would seriously disrupt the business during the period to which the request relates
the employer allows the employee to take leave within one month of the original period
the employer gives written notice within seven days of the request setting out the reasons for the postponement and agreed dates on which leave can be taken

We advise employers to tread carefully, given the statutory nature of the right and the pressure the employee may find themselves under in their personal lives as carers. That said, there may be legitimate business reasons for proposing alternative arrangements.

What should employers do to prepare for the introduction of carer’s leave?
Employers should consider the impact of the statutory provisions upon their existing carer policies and consider:

updating existing policies or creating new policies to provide for the new right
introducing record-keeping to track the number of days carer’s leave taken
educating managers in how to accommodate requests

For support in adapting to the Carer’s Leave Regulations 2024 and ensuring your business’s compliance, contact our employment law team on 020 3811 2894 or email [email protected].