Carer's leave is a legal right for employees in England, Scotland and Wales. It gives you one week of unpaid leave in a twelve month period. You can use it to give or arrange care for someone with a long term care need.
In other words, the right has applied since 6 April 2024. It starts on your first day in a job, with no qualifying period.
Most people caring for a parent do not know carer's leave exists. Carers UK explains it in plain terms. It is worth reading before your next difficult conversation at work.
What matters more this month is that the rules are under active review, and the review closes soon.
What the current right to carer's leave gives you
One week, unpaid, per rolling twelve months. You can use it to care for a dependant, or to arrange care for them.
Importantly, you can take it in half days or whole days rather than in one block. That is what makes it useful in practice.
For example, a morning covers a hospital appointment. An afternoon covers a meeting with a care provider. A whole day covers the week your usual arrangement falls through.
Meanwhile, your other employment rights carry on as normal. Holiday continues to build up, and you return to the same job.
The obvious limit, however, is that nobody pays you for it. One week also does not go far when a parent comes out of hospital.
In our experience, that gap is where the trouble starts. People use annual leave, then sick leave, then give up hours altogether.
What the government has proposed, and by when
Two things happened this summer that working families should know about.
On 14 July 2026 the government published the Unpaid carers action plan: recognise, refer, reach. It is the first cross-government plan of its kind and it contains 42 actions. It notes that nearly one in ten people in England is an unpaid carer.
From spring 2027, employers with more than 250 workers must improve their support for unpaid carers. The plan also puts carers at the centre of hospital discharge planning.
Carers will be able to register their caring role on the NHS App. Health professionals can then see it.
Separately, the Department for Business and Trade is consulting on employment rights for unpaid carers. Its proposals include paid carer's leave, and a right to return to work after a period of intensive caring.
That consultation closes at 11:59pm on 1 September 2026, and anyone can respond.
These are proposals, not law. Paid carer's leave does not exist yet. Nothing in the action plan changes what you can ask for this week.
How to raise carer's leave with an employer
Ask for the specific thing, not for sympathy.
As a rule, employers respond better to a defined request than to a general account of how hard things are. A named day is easy to say yes to. So is a fixed pattern, or a temporary arrangement with a review date.
It also helps to separate the two conversations. Carer's leave and flexible working are different rights, and different processes handle them. Asking for both at once tends to slow each of them down.
Meanwhile, larger employers increasingly have a carers policy that goes beyond the statutory minimum. Many do not advertise it. Ask your HR team directly what exists, rather than assuming the legal floor is the ceiling.
The part the law cannot fix
Leave buys you days. It does not cover the hours you are not there.
Eventually, this is the point most working families reach. The problem is rarely a single crisis week. It is the Tuesday afternoons and the early evenings, repeating, for months.
Fortunately, professional care at home closes that gap, and it does not have to be extensive. A short visit at a fixed time each day removes the running worry. It also gives back the mental space that caring at a distance quietly consumes.
Sometimes you need a longer break. Planned respite care covers a holiday, a work trip, or simply a fortnight off call. Our guide to respite care across Hertfordshire explains how it works.
If you are in Hertfordshire, our St Albans office is on 01727 324 127 or [email protected]. A good deal of what we do is holding the hours that working families cannot. We hold Care Quality Commission registration to do it.
Common Questions About Carer's Leave
Is carer's leave paid?
Not at present. The statutory entitlement is one week of unpaid leave in any twelve month period. The government is consulting on whether to introduce paid carer's leave. That consultation closes on 1 September 2026, but no paid entitlement exists yet.
Do I qualify for carer's leave if I have just started a job?
Yes. It is a day one right, so there is no minimum length of service. The person you care for must have a long term care need. That covers illness, injury, a disability, or issues related to old age.
Can my employer refuse carer's leave?
An employer cannot refuse the right itself. In some circumstances it can postpone the leave, where the business would face serious disruption. It must then agree an alternative date with you. Carers UK sets out the detail, and ACAS is the free and impartial place to check where you stand.
Putting it in a workable order
If you are working and caring, one sequence tends to help. Find out what your employer already offers. Use the statutory right where it fits. Then look honestly at the hours that will still be uncovered.
In short, the last of those three is where most of the strain actually sits. Talking it through before the next crisis is far easier than after one. Our line is 01727 324 127.
Arranging Care Is Simple
Starting care can feel like a big step. We keep it calm and straightforward, and we are here to guide you from your very first call.
1. Talk to us
Get in touch by phone or request a callback. We will listen, answer your questions and help you understand the options, with no pressure to decide anything straight away.
2. A home visit and initial consultation
We arrange a visit to understand your routines, your home and what matters most to you. Together we agree an initial consultation and shape the support that feels right.
3. Your care begins
A small, familiar team starts your care, arriving at the agreed times and staying involved as your needs change. We remain your trusted adviser throughout.
Whenever you are ready, we are here to help.