Employees with caring responsibilities will now be entitled to unpaid leave under a new law passed by the government.
The Carer’s Leave Bill, passed on 21 October, will grant employees a new entitlement to take up one week of unpaid leave each year to provide or arrange care for a dependant with a long-term care need.
The legislation will allow unpaid leave, regardless of length of service, offered to eligible employees from the first day of their employment. Carers taking the leave won’t be required to show how or for whom it will be used.
Caroline Abrahams, charity director at Age UK said that many carers experience a “complex juggling of family life, caring and work” where work is often the first responsibility to be dropped.
“We know that many carers leave work for their caring responsibilities, often leaving themselves in a financially precarious position,” said Abrahams.
“Along with the employer’s flexible working arrangement, the week’s unpaid leave included in the Carers’ Leave Bill is one element of a package of measures that could help working carers to stay in their jobs for longer, whilst continuing to care for their loved ones.”
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