Unpaid carer's leave
An unpaid carer is anyone who cares for someone who is ill, disabled, older, has mental health concerns or is experiencing addiction, and is not paid by a company or local authority to do this.
Employees' right to carer's leave
If you are an employee and an unpaid carer, you are entitled to a period of leave each year equal to your usual working week.
For example, if you usually work 3 days a week, you can take 3 days of carer's leave each year.
The right to take unpaid carer's leave applies from the first day of work. If you've been working for your employer for less than a week, your carer's leave is based on the number of days or hours you would normally work in that week.
You can take up to 1 week of carer's leave every 12 months. This leave can be taken as:
- half days – this is the minimum you can take
- full days
- a whole week
Using your carer's leave
You can take carer's leave to give or arrange care for a dependant who needs long-term care.
Dependants can include:
- your husband, wife, civil partner or partner
- your child
- your parents
- a person who lives in your household – not including tenants, lodgers or employees
- a person who relies on you for care, such as an elderly neighbour
A dependant has a long-term care need if they have any of the following:
- an illness or injury that is likely to need care for at least 3 months
- a disability – as defined in the Equality Act 2010
- a care need related to old age
Examples of when you could use carer's leave include:
- taking your disabled child to a hospital appointment
- moving your parent who has dementia into a care home
- accompanying a housebound dependant on a day trip
- providing meals and company for an elderly neighbour while their main carer is away
More information
You can find out more at GOV.UK: Unpaid carer's leave.
The information in this page is also available in the video below.