Employers and HR practitioner should be aware of the Government consultation in 2020 about carers leave for employees with long term caring commitments. The Government have now published its response to the consultation.
The recommendations will require an Act of Parliament to become law and will be expected to be listed for parliamentary discussion in 2022.
Whilst the intended law is new it is similar to existing employment legislation.
Only employee will be given the right to carers leave rather than workers. The employee must have relationship with the individual they care for. The new law will follow the definition of relation as already applied to dependents leave. The individual cared for may be the employees’ spouse, civil partner, a child. An individual who lives in the same household, but this will exclude lodger, tenant, or a live-in employee. It will apply to a person who reasonable depends on the employee for care, this can include brothers, sister, and grandparents.
The Equality Act 2010
The leave will apply where the individual is reliant on the employee for long term care, this will define disability as applied in the Equality Act 2010. It will also apply to a dependant who has age related health problems and needs care. There will be exemptions to this requirement where the employee is caring for a terminally ill dependant.
Carer’s leave will be a right from day one of the employee’s employment contract meaning there will be no minimum period of qualification for a carer to serve before the employee can ask for carers leave. The employee will be protected if the employee is subject to detrimental treatment by the employer for exercising the right to carers leave or if their employment is terminated this will be automatically unfair. The definition of care to be provided will cover the employee delivering care as well as making arrangement for the care via a third party. The definition will include the provision of fiscal support and undertaking official legal duties for the dependant.
Duty of care
The leave will be one week per year and the employee may elect to take this as a block week leave or individual days off work. These can be full and half days. The employee must give the employer notice to take dependants leave. The notice will be twice the length of notice as the duration of time the employee wants to take off, plus one day. Employer will have a duty to consider the request carefully but can turn down the request due to operational reasons or ask the employee to take the leave on later date. Employees will be able to self-certify their eligibility and won’t need to provide actual evidence that they need to take the carers leave for a dependent. However, anyone caught by the employer giving false reasons for the carers leave can be subject to disciplinary action. Employees do not have to pay the employee who is exercising their right to cares leave.
Quest will update our member once the legislation is implemented. If you have any HR matters you need to discuss please contact our HR Advice Line on 01455 852028.
