As we face an increasingly ageing population, predictions show that more people will become carers in the next decade. This will undoubtedly impact the working population.
Research carried out by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF) projects that by 2035 there will be an additional 400,000 people in the UK caring for the elderly, sick and disabled for 10 or more hours per week. This is an 11.3% increase compared to the statistics in August 2024 and it is predicted by JRF that 130,000 of these ‘new’ carers will be of working age.
These predictions show that it is likely that employers are going to have questions being asked about carer’s rights in the workplace in the coming years (e.g., employees asking to take time off to care for an elderly relative) so it is important for employers to start thinking about the answers to these questions now and get up to speed with what legal rights employees may have currently.
Recent changes to carers’ rights
This year a change was made to the law around carers’ rights by way of the introduction of The Carer’s Leave Act 2023 and the Carer’s Leave Regulations 2024 which came into effect on 6 April 2024. As a result, employees who are unpaid carers are now allowed up to a week’s unpaid leave every 12 months (a ‘week’ means the length of time they usually work over 7 days) to support them with their caring responsibilities.
To be entitled to this benefit, employees need to be providing long-term care to a dependant (this is a relatively wide definition which includes but is not limited to their spouse, child, or parent in addition to an individual who relies on them for care, such as an elderly neighbour) and will need to notify their employer of their plans to take carer’s leave in advance where possible. This is a day one right that applies to all employees.
What can employers be doing now?
The right to carer’s leave has been in force for some time so employers should be aware of this and should spread awareness of the new right to take carer’s leave among their line managers and employees alike. A great way to do this is by issuing and implementing a carer’s leave policy (if one does not already exist) and ensuring line managers are trained in its application.
To further support employees who may have caring responsibilities, employers should ensure they have recently reviewed their current flexible working policies to ensure that they reflect the current legal position post the recent changes in April 2024, making the right to make a request a day-one right, and amending the approach an employer should take in dealing with a request. Alongside this, it would be sensible for employers to review their equality and diversity suite of policies as a whole, and roll out new awareness campaigns and refresher training where required.
It is important for employers to be flexible and supportive of employees with caring responsibilities. It may be that employees need to provide more support for a family member at a particular time of the day, such as helping them get up in the morning or take them to regular appointments, and in these situations the Flexible Working (Amendment) Regulations 2023 can be especially useful (as discussed below).
What additional rights might carer’s have?
Flexible working
The Flexible Working (Amendment) Regulations 2023 removed the requirement for 26 weeks’ service before being eligible to make a request for flexible working, making the right to request flexible working a day-one right. This change allows carers the opportunity to create a greater balance between their working and home life responsibilities. The new Employment Rights Bill recently announced by the new Labour government has also confirmed that employers will only be able to refuse an application if it is “reasonable” to do so – the meaning of which should become clearer when further government guidance is provided.
Discrimination by association
In addition to the above, if a carer is treated less favourably because of their association with a person considered disabled under the Equality Act 2010, they may have a claim for discrimination by association. This could, for instance, occur if an employee is overlooked for a promotion because the employer believes their caring responsibilities may get in the way of the additional workload a promotion may require.