Carer's leave
A debate has been scheduled in Westminster Hall for Wednesday 14 May from 4.30-5:30pm on Carer's leave. The debate will be led by Wendy Chamberlain MP (Lib Dem).
All employees, from day one of employment, are entitled to take up to one week's carer's leave per year to give or arrange care for a dependent. The dependent must require care for one of the following reasons:
- Old age
- A disability (as defined in the Equality Act 2010)
- A physical or mental illness or injury that means they’re expected to need care for more than 3 months
There is no statutory obligation for carer's leave to be paid, although some employers may choose to offer contractual pay for carer's leave.
In addition to carer's leave, parents of children under 18 are entitled to up to 18 weeks of unpaid parental leave per child to help care for their children. This can be taken at any point up to the child's 18th birthday, in blocks of up to four weeks per year. This is currently only available to employees with at least one year's continuous service, but the Employment Rights Bill 2024-25 currently before Parliament would remove that requirement.
All employees are also entitled to "reasonable" time off work to deal with emergencies involving dependents, such as making neccessary arrangements when their care is disrupted, though this does not extend to providing long term care themselves.
Policy backgroundThe right to carer's leave came into effect on 6 April 2024. This was as a result of the Carer's Leave Act 2023 and the related Carer's Leave Regulations 2024. The Carer's Leave Act 2023 was originally a private members bill, introduced on 15 June 2022 by Liberal Democrat MP Wendy Chamberlain, who is also leading this Westminster Hall Debate. For more information about this bill, see the Library briefing Carer’s Leave Bill 2022-23: Progress of the Bill.
Further reading
Paid leave for carers could be introduced in Employment Rights Bill Learning Disability Today, 7 May 2025
Charity calls for Employment Rights Bill to go further in supporting millions of unpaid carers to balance paid work and unpaid care . Carers UK, 6 May 2025
Carers Leave Act Anniversary Briefing, Carers UK, April 2025