Key takeaways
Flexibility and support networks drive outcomes
Greater flexibility and stronger support networks improve career entry, retention, progression.
Awareness, pay, and culture limit leave uptake
Low awareness, unpaid leave, stigma and impractical rules reduce usage.
Consultation considers new and enhanced entitlements
Proposals include longer paid carer’s leave entitlement and introduction of Hugh’s Law.
Since April 2024, carers have a right to take up to one week of unpaid carer’s leave a year in order to provide or arrange care for a dependant requiring long-term care. The government has recently published a qualitative research report which explores the early impacts of carer’s leave, together with a consultation on possible reform.
Research report: early experiences of carer’s leave
The Department for Business and Trade commissioned research to inform its review of the employment rights of unpaid carers and to assess the extent to which the needs of employed unpaid carers are being met by the current support package.
The research report identified that unpaid carers’ employment experiences were particularly influenced by their job flexibility and the caring support networks they had around them. Carers who had more job flexibility combined with a stronger caring support network were often better able to enter, remain and progress in work. Whereas it was generally more challenging to balance employment alongside caring for those who had less job flexibility and a weaker caring support network. Unpaid carers’ ability to enter, remain and progress in work whilst providing care was shaped by 18 underlying factors. Different pressures dominate depending on whether the carer is entering work, remaining in work or seeking to progress within the workplace. Cultural and gender norms also influenced the ability of carers to work alongside their caring responsibilities.
Regarding the early experience of carers in relation to carer’s leave, the research reported the following barriers which limit uptake:
Lack of knowledge limits uptake: there was limited unprompted awareness and understanding of carer’s leave amongst those carers surveyed, although there was higher knowledge where the carer’s employer offered paid leave
Unpaid nature limits uptake: the unpaid nature of carer’s leave limits its uptake across all income levels, meaning carers prefer to take annual leave, work flexibly or rely on their support network instead
Work culture limits uptake: workplace culture influences the willingness of carers to exercise their carer’s leave right, with carers expressing concerns about colleagues judging them, potential impacts on career progression, or fears that they may be seen as unreliable and
Length and notice limits uptake: carers regarded both the one-week entitlement and the current notice requirements as being impractical.
The research participants suggested various reforms should be made to carer’s leave, including:
making it a paid form of leave
increasing the leave entitlement beyond one week
requiring carers to provide proof of their caring responsibilities
raising awareness of carer’s leave
encouraging proactive employer promotion of this leave entitlement
providing clearer guidance on what counts as an emergency
preventing employers from delaying leave requests in certain non‑emergency cases.
Consultation of possible reform and introduction of Hugh’s Law
The Department of Business and Trade recently launched a consultation on possible changes to the existing employment rights of unpaid carers and the introduction of paid leave for parents of seriously ill children, which seeks views on the information and guidance that is available to support unpaid carers, and what forms of further support would be helpful for both unpaid carers and parents with a seriously ill child. In summary, the consultation seeks views on the following potential reforms:
In relation to carer’s leave, the government is considering whether to:
increase the existing entitlement to one week of unpaid carer’s leave a year, with periods of six to ten days under consideration
introduce a new right to ‘right to return’ to work (similar to the right applicable following maternity leave) in order to protect the employee’s job during a longer absence on carer’s leave and
introduce of a new right to a short period of ‘paid’ carer’s leave, with periods of one to five days under consideration.
The consultation also suggests the possible introduction of a new right to a one-off period of paid leave for the parents of seriously ill children (known as Hugh’s Law), seeking views on what should qualify as a ‘serious illness’, which parents should qualify to take this leave, the duration of this entitlement (with periods between one to twelve weeks under consideration), the evidence which should be provided to confirm entitlement and on the appropriate rate of pay during this type of leave.
The consultation closes on 1 September 2026. We will report any developments.
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