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.
We build leave software, so we see where employers get caught out: the notice maths, and the belief that they can say no. You can't refuse carer's leave, only postpone it. Take the wording first, then read the detail below.
Copy-and-paste policy template
Start with this wording and adapt it to your handbook. Keep the statutory carve-outs and don't drop the entitlement below the one-week unpaid minimum. Prefer to edit in Word? The same 13-clause policy is a download 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.
Manager checklist
When someone asks for carer's leave, run these four checks before you reply.
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.
What carer's leave is
Carer's leave is a statutory right under the Carer's Leave Act 2023 and the Carer's Leave Regulations 2024, in force since 6 April 2024 across Great Britain. Eligible employees get unpaid time off to provide or arrange care for a dependant with a long-term care need. It is separate from time off for dependants, which is for emergencies. Here is how the two compare, and why you should keep them as two policies, not one vague clause.
| 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) |
Who qualifies
Two things must both be true: the person is a dependant, and they have a long-term care need. The employee self-certifies both, and you can't ask for proof.
Who counts as a dependant
The Act 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 |
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.
Short-term illness doesn't qualify. For that, an employee uses time off for dependants, not carer's leave, so make that split clear in your policy.
How much leave and how to take it
One working week of unpaid leave per rolling 12-month period, counted from the date the employee first takes it, not from the start of your leave year. A week means their normal working week, so a five-day worker gets five days and a three-day worker gets three. They can take it as a single block, as single days, or as half days (half a working day is the minimum unit), and can spread it across more than one dependant. It is one week in total per year, not one week per person cared for.
Notice requirements
Employees must give advance notice. The minimum depends on how many days 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 |
So the rule is twice the days requested, or three days, whichever is greater. What the notice does not need to include:
- It does not have to be in writing, give the reason, name the dependant, or come with any medical evidence. The employee self-certifies; asking for proof is not permitted under the Carer's Leave Regulations 2024 and can amount to a detriment.
Can the employer refuse?
No. You cannot refuse a valid request for carer's leave. The right exists from day one and there is no business-need test to turn it down. You can postpone it if the absence would unduly disrupt the business, but that is not a refusal: the employee still gets the full entitlement, just at a different time.
How to handle postponement correctly
Rights during leave
Employees keep their employment rights while they are off and are protected from detriment. Annual leave keeps accruing, they return to the same role on the same terms, and dismissing or penalising someone (a missed promotion, a poor appraisal) for taking or seeking carer's leave is automatically unfair, with no qualifying period needed to claim. Keep requests confidential and share only with those who need to know.
Records and payroll
Keep a simple record of dates and leave type so you can track the rolling 12-month balance, but leave the dependant's health details out of it. Carer's leave is unpaid, so tell payroll which pay period is affected before the cut-off. Many employers go further with a set number of paid carer's days or a carer's passport scheme; if you do, spell out that the extra is discretionary so it doesn't harden into a contractual term.
Book Time Off lets you set up a carer's leave type that shows on the team calendar and stays out of the annual leave balance, so a recorded carer's day never eats into someone's holiday.
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.