New law will give unpaid carers a right to a week of flexible unpaid leave a year to care for a dependant with a long-term care need. We look at this new right and what it means for employers.

An estimated 2 million people in the UK balance work alongside unpaid caring responsibilities. This can be a difficult and demanding. On average, around 600 people per day leave the workforce because they cannot maintain this balance.

With an ageing population, the number of carers only looks set to increase. Many of us will find ourselves having to take time out of work to care for someone else at some point during our working lives.

Despite this, there is currently no dedicated statutory leave entitlement for informal carers. The government plans to introduce a right to one week’s unpaid carer’s leave each year to help carers better balance their caring role with their paid employment.

What legal entitlements do employees currently have?

Currently, unpaid carers who are also in employment must rely on other types of leave to meet their caring responsibilities, such as parental leave if they are caring for a child or annual leave.

Employees have the right to unpaid time off to handle emergencies and certain other situations involving dependants, including children, spouses, and parents, but this type of leave cannot be taken where the employee knows about the situation beforehand, which limits how it can be used. For example, it could not be used to take an elderly parent to a...

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