Under the Carer's Leave Act 2023, employees have a day-one right to up to one working week of unpaid leave per 12 months to provide or arrange care for a dependant with a long-term care need. Employers cannot refuse carer's leave but may postpone it in limited circumstances. A clear policy sets out notice rules, the postponement test, and how leave is recorded.
What carer's leave is
Carer's leave is a statutory employment right introduced by the Carer's Leave Act 2023 and the Carer's Leave Regulations 2024. It came into force on 6 April 2024 and applies to employees in Great Britain.
The right allows eligible employees to take unpaid time off to provide or arrange care for a dependant who has a long-term care need. It is separate from time off for dependants, which covers emergency situations. The table below shows how the two rights compare.
| Feature | Carer's leave | Time off for dependants |
|---|---|---|
| Legal basis | Carer's Leave Act 2023 | Employment Rights Act 1996 s.57A |
| Entitlement | Up to one working week per 12-month rolling period | Reasonable amount (no fixed maximum) |
| Trigger | Dependant has a long-term care need | Emergency involving a dependant |
| Notice required | Advance notice: twice the leave or three days, whichever is greater | As soon as reasonably practicable |
| Can employer refuse? | No, but can postpone | No |
| Pay | Unpaid (no statutory pay) | Unpaid (no statutory pay) |
Keep your carer's leave policy separate from your time off for dependants policy. They have different notice rules, different entitlement amounts, and different postponement tests. Combining them in one vague clause creates confusion for both managers and employees.
Who qualifies: dependants and long-term care needs
To take carer's leave, the employee must be providing or arranging care for a dependant who has a long-term care need. Both conditions must be met.
Who counts as a dependant for carer's leave?
The Carer's Leave Act 2023 defines a dependant as any of the following:
| Category | Examples |
|---|---|
| Spouse or civil partner | The employee's husband, wife, or civil partner |
| Child | The employee's child (no age limit specified in the Act) |
| Parent | The employee's mother or father |
| Person living in the same household | Anyone who lives with the employee, except as their employee, tenant, lodger, or boarder |
The employee does not need to prove the relationship or provide personal details about the dependant. They self-certify that they are eligible.
What counts as a long-term care need?
The dependant must have at least one of three types of long-term care need:
Illness or injury lasting over three months
A physical or mental illness or injury that requires, or is likely to require, care for more than three months.
Disability under the Equality Act 2010
A disability as defined by the Equality Act 2010: a physical or mental impairment that has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on normal day-to-day activities.
Issues related to old age
Care needs arising from old age, such as frailty, dementia, or reduced capacity to manage daily living independently.
Carer's leave is for long-term care needs only. If an employee needs time off for a dependant with a short-term illness, the correct process is usually time off for dependants, not carer's leave. Your policy should make this distinction clear.
How much leave and how to take it
Each eligible employee is entitled to up to one working week of unpaid carer's leave per 12-month rolling period. The 12-month period runs from the date the employee first takes carer's leave, not from the start of the leave year.
What counts as a week?
A week means the employee's normal working week: the number of days they usually work in a seven-day period. A full-time employee working five days a week is entitled to five days. A part-time employee working three days a week is entitled to three days.
How the leave can be split
Employees can take their carer's leave flexibly within the 12-month period:
- As a single block (for example, a full working week at once)
- As individual days spread across the year
- As half days (the minimum unit is half a working day)
- In a combination of whole days and half days
- For more than one dependant within the same one-week entitlement
If an employee cares for multiple people, they cannot take a separate week for each one. The entitlement is one working week per 12-month period in total, which can be spread across more than one dependant.
Notice requirements
Employees must give advance notice before taking carer's leave. The minimum notice depends on how many days of leave they want to take.
| Leave requested | Minimum notice required | How it is calculated |
|---|---|---|
| Half a day | 3 days | Twice the leave = 1 day; minimum floor is 3 days |
| 1 day | 3 days | Twice the leave = 2 days; minimum floor is 3 days |
| 2 days | 4 days | Twice the leave = 4 days |
| 3 days | 6 days | Twice the leave = 6 days |
| 5 days (full week, 5-day worker) | 10 days | Twice the leave = 10 days |
The rule is: the minimum notice is twice the number of days of leave requested, or three days, whichever is greater.
What the notice does not need to include
Notice does not have to be in writing. Employees do not need to:
- Give the reason for taking the leave
- Name or identify their dependant
- Provide medical evidence or documentation about the dependant's condition
The employee self-certifies that they are taking carer's leave and that they are eligible. Employers cannot ask for evidence, and requesting it may amount to a detriment connected to the exercise of the right.
Requiring employees to produce medical records, care assessments, or a letter from a GP before allowing carer's leave is not permitted under the Carer's Leave Regulations 2024. Accept self-certification and keep records of the dates taken.
Can the employer refuse?
No. An employer cannot refuse a valid request for carer's leave. The Carer's Leave Act 2023 is explicit: the right exists from day one, and there is no test of business need to refuse it outright.
However, an employer can postpone a period of carer's leave if they reasonably consider that the operation of their business would be unduly disrupted if the leave were taken on the requested dates. Postponement is not a refusal: the employee still gets their full entitlement, just at a different time.
How to handle postponement correctly
If an employer refuses carer's leave outright rather than following the postponement process, the employee may bring a complaint to an employment tribunal. The right is not discretionary: it cannot be withheld because the employer finds it inconvenient.
Employee rights and protections
Employees taking carer's leave retain their employment rights during the period of absence and are protected against any detriment connected to taking it.
| Protection | What it means in practice |
|---|---|
| Holiday accrual | Annual leave continues to accrue during carer's leave as normal. |
| Right to return | Employees return to the same role with the same terms and conditions after carer's leave. |
| Unfair dismissal | Dismissal for a reason connected to taking, or seeking to take, carer's leave is automatically unfair. No qualifying period of employment is needed to bring such a claim. |
| Protection from detriment | An employee must not be subjected to any detriment (such as being passed over for promotion, excluded from training, or given a poor appraisal) because they took or sought to take carer's leave. |
| Confidentiality | Employers should not disclose personal details about the employee's caring responsibilities beyond those involved in managing the leave request. |
Copy-and-paste policy template
The wording below is a starting point. Adapt it to your existing handbook style, contracts, and any discretionary enhancements you choose to offer. Keep the statutory carve-outs in place and do not narrow the entitlement below the statutory minimum. Prefer to edit it in Word? Download the same 13-clause policy as an editable document below.
Carer's leave policy template (UK)
The full 13-clause policy as an editable Word document. Drop your details into the bracketed fields, read the drafting notes, then delete them before issuing.
- 13 clauses anchored in the Carer's Leave Act 2023
- Sample wording for every section
- Blue placeholders show where to add your details
- Drafting notes explain the choices only you can make
- Document control panel and disclaimer included
1. Purpose and scope
This policy sets out the Company's approach to carer's leave under the Carer's Leave Act 2023 and the Carer's Leave Regulations 2024. It applies to all employees. Workers and self-employed contractors are not covered by the statutory right and should refer to their agreement for any contractual provisions.
2. Eligibility
All employees are entitled to carer's leave from their first day of employment. There is no qualifying period. The right applies to employees who are providing or arranging care for a dependant with a long-term care need.
3. Who counts as a dependant
For carer's leave, a dependant is a spouse, civil partner, child, parent, or a person living in the same household as the employee (other than as their employee, tenant, lodger, or boarder).
4. What counts as a long-term care need
A long-term care need means: (a) a physical or mental illness or injury that requires or is likely to require care for more than three months; (b) a disability under the Equality Act 2010; or (c) issues related to old age.
5. Entitlement
Employees may take up to one working week of unpaid carer's leave in any 12-month rolling period, calculated from the date they first take carer's leave in each period. A week means the employee's normal working week. The entitlement applies once per 12-month period regardless of the number of dependants cared for.
6. How leave can be taken
Carer's leave may be taken as a single block, as individual days, or as half days, whether consecutive or non-consecutive. The minimum period is half a working day.
7. Notice
Employees must give advance notice before taking carer's leave. The minimum notice is twice the number of days of leave requested, or three days, whichever is greater. Notice does not need to be given in writing. Employees are not required to give the reason for the leave, identify their dependant, or provide evidence of the dependant's condition.
8. Postponement
The Company may postpone a period of carer's leave where the employee's absence would unduly disrupt the operation of the business. If postponement is necessary, the Company will: consult the employee as soon as reasonably practicable; agree an alternative date within one calendar month of the originally requested date; and confirm the postponement and new date in writing to the employee within seven days of the original request. The Company will not refuse carer's leave.
9. Pay during carer's leave
Carer's leave is unpaid. [Optional: The Company offers [X] day(s) of paid carer's leave per 12-month period as a discretionary enhancement. This discretionary entitlement will be confirmed separately and may be amended.] The payroll team will be notified of approved carer's leave dates and will process any deduction accordingly.
10. Privacy and confidentiality
The Company will treat carer's leave requests with sensitivity. Employees are not required to share personal information about their dependant's condition. Information about a carer's leave request will be shared only with those who need to know for the purpose of managing the absence.
11. Employment rights during leave
Annual leave continues to accrue during carer's leave. Employees return to the same role on the same terms and conditions after carer's leave. Dismissal or any detriment connected to taking, or seeking to take, carer's leave is not permitted and will be treated as a serious matter.
12. Record keeping
The Company will keep a record of carer's leave taken by each employee to track entitlement usage across each 12-month rolling period. Records will be kept in line with the Company's data retention policy.
13. Review
This policy will be reviewed periodically and updated to reflect changes in employment law, ACAS guidance, or Company practice.
Your carer's leave policy works best as part of a wider framework. Cross-reference it with your time off for dependants policy, your unpaid leave policy, and your sickness absence policy so managers and employees know which process applies in each situation.
Records and payroll
Good record keeping matters for two reasons: it lets you track how much of the 12-month entitlement each employee has used, and it gives you a clear audit trail if a request is ever challenged.
Because employees are not required to provide evidence or reasons, your records should focus on dates, leave type, and rolling balance. They should not include sensitive personal details about the dependant's health condition.
For payroll, carer's leave is unpaid. Before the leave starts, confirm with the payroll team which pay period is affected, how the deduction will be calculated, and whether any other contractual terms (pension, benefits) are affected. If you offer discretionary paid carer's leave as an enhancement, make clear in your policy and payroll process exactly how many paid days are available and how they interact with the statutory unpaid entitlement.
Discretionary enhancements
Many employers choose to go beyond the statutory minimum. Common approaches include:
- Offering a set number of paid carer's leave days per year (for example, five paid days)
- Allowing the statutory unpaid entitlement to be taken flexibly, with the paid enhancement on top
- Operating a carer's passport scheme so employees can share relevant (and only relevant) information with their manager once, rather than disclosing it repeatedly
Any discretionary enhancement should be set out clearly in the policy or a separate carer's support document. Make clear that the enhancement is discretionary and may be changed, to avoid it becoming an implied contractual term.
Book Time Off lets you create a dedicated carer's leave type alongside annual leave, sickness, and other leave categories. That keeps the team calendar accurate and avoids carer's leave being incorrectly deducted from annual leave balances.
Manager checklist
When an employee requests carer's leave, work through these four checks before responding:
Is this the right process?
Check whether the situation is an emergency (which would go via time off for dependants), sickness, or a planned caring need that fits carer's leave.
Is the notice correct?
Confirm the employee has given at least twice the leave requested, or three days, whichever is greater. Remind them if notice is short before the leave starts.
Is postponement needed?
Ask honestly: would this absence unduly disrupt the business, or is it merely inconvenient? If postponing, follow the four-step process and confirm the new date in writing within seven days.
Record and notify payroll
Log the dates and leave type. Notify payroll of the unpaid period before the payroll cut-off. Update the rolling 12-month balance for that employee.
Sources
Primary sources
| GOV.UK | Unpaid carer's leave · Overview of the right, notice rules, and employer responsibilities. Checked June 2026. |
| Legislation.gov.uk | Carer's Leave Act 2023 · The primary legislation establishing the right and definitions. Checked June 2026. |
| Legislation.gov.uk | The Carer's Leave Regulations 2024 · Notice requirements, postponement rules, and record-keeping obligations. Checked June 2026. |
| ACAS | Carer's leave · Practical guidance on notice, postponement, and good practice for employers and employees. Checked June 2026. |
| GOV.UK | Time off for family and dependants · How time off for dependants works alongside carer's leave. Checked June 2026. |
| Legislation.gov.uk | Equality Act 2010 · Definition of disability relied on in the long-term care need test. Checked June 2026. |
FAQs
This guide is general information for UK employers. Employment law depends on facts, contracts, and circumstances. If you are dealing with a dispute, a complex caring situation, or potential tribunal risk, contact ACAS or take professional legal advice.