New Regulations brought the Carers Leave Act 2023 into force at the beginning of December, however further Regulations are required to set out further detail of this right for employees and how employers should manage it. These are currently in draft, however it has been confirmed that they will come into force on 6 April 2024, so we expect to see the final version soon.
Nonetheless, it may still be wise for employers to prepare for the implementation of the new statutory rights, by familiarising themselves with the information that has been released and therefore what obligations, policies and procedures etc, to anticipate.
Currently, the key features are:
- the right is a Day One employment right
- the right applies to employees who have a dependant with a long-term care need and those who want to be absent from work to provide, or arrange care for that dependant
- requests can be in consecutive, or non-consecutive, half-days or full days
- employees must give notice, in writing, of their intention to take carer’s leave – confirming their entitlement to take it and giving at least twice the amount of notice than the period of leave requested. Or, if longer, three days’ notice
- employers can postpone a request if the operation of the business would be unduly disrupted. In these circumstances, the employer must give notice of the postponement before the leave was due to begin and must explain why the postponement is necessary. The employer must then allow the leave to be taken within one month of the start-date of the leave originally requested. Rescheduling the leave should be done in consultation with the employee
- employees are protected from detriment and dismissal because they take, or seek to take, carer’s leave (or the employer believes they are likely to do so).
We are here to help
If you require any support with your business including your HR, Payroll or Health and Safety, please contact us and speak to a member of the team.
