Time Off for Carer’s Leave

Caring for a person with dementia can be difficult and is not always an ‘’out of hours” job. These responsibilities may therefore occur during an employee’s contractual working hours.

Carer’s Leave Act 2023

Since the 6th of April 2023, the Carer’s Leave Act 2023 has provided the right to unpaid leave for those employees that may need to take time off work to deal with unexpected events involving a dependant with a long-term care need.

Under the Act, employees can take a total of five days unpaid leave to provide or arrange care for their dependant each year. This leave can be taken either in individual days, or half days, up to a maximum block of one week.

Notice requirements under the Act

The Act requires that employees provide twice the amount of notice to their employers to take this leave. For example, if two days of leave is requested, the employee is required to give four days’ notice to their employer.

A step in the right direction

The introduction of the Carers Leave Act and the rights it gives is something that has been strived for for a long time and demonstrates a fantastic step in the right direction in recognising the support that is required by carers.