Carer's Leave Act 2023

The draft regulations for the Carer’s Leave Act 2023 were laid in Parliament on 11 December 2023; it has been confirmed that the new legislation will come into effect from 6 April 2024.

The draft regulations set out some important details about the Act:

• It will cover employees in England, Wales and Scotland.
• Only employees providing long term care will be entitled to the provision.
• An employee will be able to be take up to 1 week’s leave. The leave can be taken in half or full days, up to and including taking a block of a whole week of leave at once.
• An employee needs to provide the appropriate notice to take the leave; this is calculated as twice the length of leave taken, in advance of the earliest day of leave. (For example, a week’s leave would need to be booked two weeks in advance.) 
• An employee will not have to notify their employer in writing regarding their request to take Carer’s Leave, although they can do so if they wish. 

It is important to note that employees taking Carer’s Leave will have the same employment protections as associated with other forms of family-related leave. This includes protection from dismissal or detriment as a result of having taken the leave. 

Employers are not able to deny an employee’s request for Carer’s Leave but they can postpone it if they reasonably consider that the operation of the business would be unduly disrupted if the leave was approved. If the employer does postpone the leave they must provide a written counter notice within seven days of the request, explaining the reason for the postponement and offering revised dates that the employee can take the leave. The employee must be allowed to take the requested leave within a month of their original request.

An employee will be able to bring an employment tribunal claim if their employer has unreasonably postponed, prevented or attempted to prevent them from taking Carer’s Leave. A tribunal can then make a declaration and award the employee compensation. The amount of compensation is subject to what the tribunal considers “just and equitable”, taking into account the employer’s behaviour and any consequential loss sustained by the employee.

If you are an existing client of Stallard Kane we will now work with you to ensure the appropriate documentation is in place. Should you not be a client and would like further support, please get in touch. 

Each situation is unique, and we're here to provide tailored guidance for your specific needs. Contact hr@skaltd.co.uk and #oneoftheteam will be there to help.