In July, we saw two pieces of legislations passed by the UK Government which will help unpaid carers who are juggling paid employment alongside their caring roles.
Carer’s Leave Act (2023)
The Carer’s Leave Act will:
- introduce a new and flexible entitlement to one week’s unpaid leave per year for employees who are providing or arranging care for a relative or dependant
- be available from the first day of their employment
- allow employees to take the leave flexibly for planned and foreseen caring commitments
- offer the same employment protections to employees taking this leave that are associated with other forms of family-related leave, meaning they will be protected from dismissal or any detriment because of having taken time off.
Carer’s Leave is likely to come into effect from April 2024. Carers UK have produced an initial guide for employers which can be downloaded from here.
Employment Relations (Flexible Working) Act 2023
Employees across the UK will be given even more flexibility over where and when they work, as the Employment Relations (Flexible Working) Bill received Royal Assent this month.
The right to request flexible working will become a Day One right ( employees will no longer have to wait until 26 weeks of employment). Workers will benefit from the following new protections once the legislation is in force:
- New requirements for employers to consult with the employee before rejecting their flexible working request.
- Permission to make two statutory requests in any 12-month period (rather than the current one request).
- Reduced waiting times for decisions to be made(within which an employer administers the statutory request) from three months to two months.
- The removal of existing requirements that the employee must explain what effect, if any, the change applied for would have on the employer and how that effect might be dealt with.
The measures in the Act and secondary legislation are expected to come into force by Autumn 2024, to give employers time to prepare for the changes.
