The Carer’s Leave Bill, a Bill to make a provision for unpaid leave for employees with caring responsibilities, received final approval from the House of Lords on Friday 19 May 2023.

The proposed legislation which was backed by MP’s earlier this year, and which has now been approved by the House of Lords, is expected to come into force in 2024.  

The Background

According to CarersUK, prior to the Coronavirus pandemic almost 5 million people were juggling paid work alongside providing unpaid care. This amounted to around 15% of the UK’s population. In 2020, that same number increased to over 7 million. The strain of juggling paid work alongside unpaid care has led to hundreds of thousands of people leaving the labour market completely and as the UK’s population ages and changes to the way we work occur as a result of Covid-19 pandemic, the issue of people juggling work and care is only going to grow as a challenge.

The Proposed Changes

The Bill has been introduced with the intention of aiding unpaid carers to remain in employment alongside continuing to meet their caring responsibilities. The Carer’s Leave Bill seeks to achieve this through a number of ways:

• the Bill allows voluntary carers to take leave in either half or whole days of up to one week (5 days) a year (‘Carer’s Leave’). This new entitlement will be available to employees regardless of how long they have been employed by an employer; 
• under the Bill, a carer would not be required to provide evidence of their caring responsibilities when requesting Carer’s Leave; and
• the Bill will ensure that Carer’s Leave is afforded the same employment law protections as other family-related leave such as parental or bereavement leave (for instance, employees would have protection from dismissal if they took Carer’s Leave).

The Bill will have benefits for employers too.

For employers who already currently provide their own version of Carer’s Leave to staff, the Carer’s Leave Bill will reduce recruitment costs whilst commentary has indicated that the Bill will improve staff retention and improve wellbeing throughout the workforce.  

When speaking with the BBC, Liberal Democrat MP, Wendy Chamberlain who introduced the Bill to the House of Commons indicated that the Bill was “vital step” but expressed that she would like to have seen the leave entitlement under the Carer’s Leave Bill be for a longer period of time and paid.

This article is for general guidance only and should not be used for any other purpose. It does not constitute and should not be relied upon as legal advice.