Carers' rights at work

Working while you’re caring for someone may be important to you. It can provide an income, a routine, and a sense of community. If you’re employed and caring for someone with a terminal illness, you have legal rights that protect you from discrimination at worki. There may also be options to support you to stay in work, such as flexible working or reducing your hours to fit in with your caring responsibilities. Knowing what your options are can help make dealing with emergencies easier and help find an arrangement that works for you.

The options available to you will depend on your employer. It’s a good idea to check your employment contract, staff handbook, or any policies to see what’s available. If you feel comfortable, you could also ask your manager.

You might be able to ask for:

Check your contract, staff handbook or ask your manager what policies are in place for staff. They may include:

If you’re working while caring for someone, there might be times when you need to take time off. For example, you might need time off for appointments, or time off to care for them in emergencies.

You might want to discuss your caring responsibilities with your employer. It can help to think about the pros and cons before speaking with them.

Some pros of telling your manager and colleagues could include:

Some carers worry that colleagues will think of them differently. But, there are laws that protect carers from discrimination (see Protection from discrimination, harassment and victimisation as a carer below).

Before speaking with your manager, it might be worth checking your workplace policies and what you could be entitled to. This may make you feel more confident and secure asking for time off work or flexible working.

You could speak to your HR or People team first, if you have one, if you do not feel comfortable speaking to your manager.

You may need to take time off work because of an emergency with the person you care for. This is sometimes called ‘time off for family or dependants’.

The emergency must be something unexpected. Appointments you knew about in advance will not count.

You’re allowed a ‘reasonable’ amount of time off work if an emergency happens. Your employer will decide what they feel is reasonable. There’s no limit to how many times you take time off for an emergency involving someone you care for.

Your employer will decide if you’re paid for the time off to look after someone or deal with an emergency. Check your contact, staff handbook or intranet to see if there’s a policy about this. Ask your manager if you’re unsure.

Your employer may offer compassionate leave. This means in certain circumstances they’ll grant you paid or unpaid leave. It could include if you’re bereaved or if the person you care for is very ill.

If they do offer compassionate leave, it’ll say so in your contract, staff handbook, or you can ask your HR department or line manager.

In England, Wales and Scotland, you have the right to ask for flexible work from your first day in a job.

Types of flexible working include:

Your employer will consider the impact on the business before agreeing to flexible working. They do not have to agree if it would leave them short staffed at key times of day, for example.

There are usually two ways to request flexible working:

You can make an informal request if you’re not able to make a statutory request.

To make a statutory request, you need to put your request in writing. You can make two applications every 12 months.

You need to say:

If you make this type of request, your employer has to:

You could suggest a trial period to see if the new arrangements work for everyone. You do not need to say why you want flexible working.

Your employment contract should be updated with the new terms and conditions if they accept your request.

Check if your employer has a request form. Or use the form from GOV.UK to make a request for flexible working.

If there is no option for you to make a statutory request to your employer, you can still ask to work flexibly. This is known as making an informal request.

Your employer does not need to consider an informal request. But they usually will. You can make as many informal requests as you wish.

Check your contract or staff handbook for any policies or rules around requesting flexible working. It’s a good idea to write your request down, so that what you’re asking for is clear. You might want to include:

You might want to include the reason why you want to work flexibly – but you do not need to.

In England, Wales and Scotland, your employer must deal with your request within two months of your application. They have a duty to deal with requests in ‘a reasonable manner’.

Before rejecting your application, your employer needs to meet with you to discuss it. They will let you know if they’ve rejected your application and must explain their reasons in writing.

There are several reasons why your employer might reject your application. These include:

You can appeal if you feel your employer did not handle your request in a reasonable manner or refused it based on incorrect facts. Follow your company’s appeals process.

You can complain to an employment tribunal if you need to take it further.

In Northern Ireland, you need to have worked for your employer for 26 weeks continuously before you’re allowed to apply for flexible working. You can make one statutory request every 12 months.

If you do not have the legal right to ask for flexible working via a statutory request, you can still make an informal request (see Making an informal request above). Your employer does not need to consider this, but they usually will.

In Northern Ireland, employers have stricter timeframes. They must have a meeting with you within 28 days of receiving your application if they want to reject your request.

If the person that would usually consider your application is away when you make the request, the 28 days will start when they are back.

If you live in England, Wales and Scotland and you’re caring for someone, you could be entitled to up to one week of unpaid leave per year. A ‘week’ is classed as the time you usually work over 7 days. For example, if you work 5 days a week, you’d be entitled to 5 days of leave. You’re entitled to this from your first day in the job.

The person you care for does not need to be a family member. It can be anyone who relies on you for care who has:

Your employer cannot deny you carer’s leave. But they can postpone it, if they think that business would be seriously disrupted if they approved it.

Taking unpaid carer’s leave will not affect your holidays or other employment rights.

Unpaid carer’s leave is not automatically available in Northern Ireland. This is because employees in Northern Ireland do not have a statutory right to unpaid carer’s leave, so employers do not need to consider a request. But, it’s worth checking with your employer if there’s other leave or flexible working arrangements they can offer.

People with a terminal illness are protected from discrimination at work by:

If you’re caring for a friend or family member with a terminal illness on a regular basis, you have rights ‘by association’. It means your employer cannot treat you unfairly because of your friend or family member’s condition. For example, it would be unlawful for your employer to say you’re not suitable for promotion because you care for someone with a terminal illness.

Check your employment contract or with HR about the company’s complaints policy. You should follow this first.

You may need support if you work for yourself and care for someone else. Get advice and support from:

Making changes to how you work, or asking for time off can be challenging. If you’re unsure about what you’re entitled to, or how to ask for time off, there’s support available.

Carers UK is an organisation that provides advice and support on employment rights.

ACAS offers free advice on employment rights if you’re struggling to understand what you might be entitled to. It also has template letters and forms you can use.

To speak to someone about how you’re feeling, our trained officers and volunteers are here to support you. Call our free Support Line on** 0800 090 2309**, email support@mariecurie.org.uk, or speak to us on webchat.

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