Caring for loved ones while your work? Employer not helpful? You're not alone, help is available
This article is about the practical application of one particular aspect of unpaid carer policy in the UK, something called Carer's Assessment. This can play an important part in exercising your rights as a carer in the workplace, particularly if your employer is not supportive.
More broadly, I hope this will help all unpaid carers in the UK, while also illustrating what governments in other countries, America for example, could do to support the many millions of people who make a vital, but too often undervalued, contribution to society.
Are you an unpaid carer/caregiver?
Are you looking after someone, taking care of some or all of their needs for weeks or months at a time? If you are doing this in the UK without being paid for it, for example caring for a friend or relative, you are referred to as an unpaid carer. In the US, the equivalent term is caregivers. Both terms embody the distinction between doing care work without pay.
In America, it is estimated that between 59 and 63 million people currently provide unpaid care to an adult loved one. In the UK, there are between 5.7 million and 8.9 million unpaid carers, depending on exact criteria. I am one of them. However, although there are millions of us actively involved in the often hard work of caregiving, it is easy to feel alone.
Every day of the week a non-trivial amount of my time and energy goes into looking after my disabled partner and elderly mother (97). And for the most part I do this work by myself. Thankfully, I don't have to hold down a job at the same time, but that's because I am in my 70s and living on a pension (there is work I would like to still be doing, but I have some health problems of my own and don't have much energy left after my care work.
There are a lot of people who work a full-time job as well as provide unpaid care, and I know from talking to some of them that not all employers are as sympathetic to carers as they should be, and easily could be, if they made an effort.
Sadly, the implications of unpaid care work are not, in my opinion, sufficiently well understood or adequately accounted for in the economic, health, and social policies of most countries. Too often that is reflected in workplaces where accommodations to support unpaid carers are not made; a short-sighted approach to effective business management.
That said, the situation for unpaid carers appears to be considerably better in the UK than the US (and I say this as someone who is a citizen of both countries and spent roughly 35 years in each of then). What follows is a brief account of mandated support for unpaid carers in the UK workplace.
Government Support for Unpaid Carers
In the UK, unpaid carers have several significant legal protections.
1. Carer’s Leave Act 2023 (in force since 6 April 2024)
The Carer’s Leave Act grants every UK employee the statutory right to one week of unpaid leave annually to care for dependants, that is, individuals dependent on them due long-term illness, injury, disability, or age-related care needs. Employers must accommodate a carers request to use this leave. Employers have limited ability to postpone carer’s leave requests. Harper James
This entitlement applies to employees from their first day of work, and employment rights—such as holidays and returning to their job—are protected while on leave. The person you are caring for does not have to be a relative; it can be anyone who requires care for a period of over three months due to a physical or mental illness or injury. NHS Highland
Crucially, an employer cannot require evidence proving entitlement to carer’s leave. The leave can be taken as individual days, half-days, or a full week block, but a minimum of half a working day must be used at a time. Warners Solicitors
2. Time Off for Dependants (Emergency Leave)
This is a separate, older right that covers unexpected emergencies. The right to time off for dependants came into force in December 1999 and is incorporated into the Employment Rights Act 1996 — giving employees the right to take a reasonable amount of unpaid time off for urgent family reasons. Dismissing an employee for taking this time off is automatically unfair. HR-inform
This is in addition to the new carer’s leave — the two rights sit alongside each other. Brent Council
3. Right to Request Flexible Working
Employees in England now have the right to request flexible working from day one of employment. While the employer does not have to grant the request, they do have to provide a “genuine business reason” for refusing it. This could allow you to adjust your hours or working pattern to better accommodate youe caring responsibilities. Carers Trust
4. Protection from Discrimination (Equality Act 2010)
This is a really important one. The Equality Act 2010 protects carers from direct discrimination or harassment because of their caring responsibilities; this is known as “discrimination by association.” Kingston Council
It is illegal for an employer to discriminate against someone because they are an unpaid carer. An example of discrimination would be if an employer punished an employee for taking time off to care for a dependant, but did not punish other employees for taking a similar amount of time off. Sense
Practical tips for exercising carer rights:
Document everything: keep a record of any criticism you receive from. your employer arising from your role as an unpaid carer.
Consider getting a carer's assessment: this will formalise your carer role and make it "official" (see below).
Formally notify your employer: let them know that you are exercising your rights under the Carer’s Leave Act, referencing your specific care obligations.
Check her employment contract: many employers offer more generous provisions than the statutory minimum.
If you receive criticism arising from your carer situation, and it persists after you have explained your situation, contact ACAS (free, confidential advice) or seek guidance from Citizens Advice or Carers UK.
The key takeaway is that criticism or adverse treatment for exercising these legal rights could potentially constitute a breach of your statutory rights or even unlawful discrimination. Your employer is on very shaky ground if they are penalising you for this.
What is a Carer’s Assessment?
A carer’s assessment is one of the best things that happened to me and the people I care for (my carees as I like to call them), and it's free. Technically speaking, carer’s assessment is a formal intervention under the Care Act 2014 through which a local authority determines whether a carer has a need for support to help them live their day-to-day life and to continue providing care. You do not need to be living with the person you are caring for. (For example, I am registered carer for my mother who lives in her own flat.)
Any carer can request an assessment and the local authority has a legal duty to carry it out (Social Care Institute for Excellence). The assessment looks at the person’s regular care duties and how the volume and nature of those duties affect their wellbeing and ability to manage the rest of their life.
After the assessment, the local authority should offer practical, financial, or emotional support that both they and the carer feel would be beneficial (Carehome). In my case, I was immediately provided with a big slice of peace of mind and so were my carees. This took the form of a carer registration number, emergency phone number, and ID card.
If anything happens to me — e.g. the proverbial hit by a bus scenario — someone can call the number and find out what my carees need. Arrangements for continuity of care can then be made. When I explained this to my partner she was delighted. The work of documenting her needs had been done and was available if needed.
Why carer's assessment helps with employers who are not helpful
In terms of your rights as a carers, there are several practical ways carer's assessment benefits you and the person(s) for whom you are caring:
It creates an official record. The assessment formally documents your role as a carer and the needs of the person(s) beng cared for. If your employer ever challenges your absences due to caring or takes action against you due to your caregiving roleher, you have an authoritative, independent record of your caring responsibilities — not just your word.
It strengthens your employment position. Under the Carer’s Leave Act 2023, you don’t technically need to prove anything to your employer, but having an assessment on record makes it significantly harder for an employer to dispute the legitimacy of your situation or claim your are misusing your rights.
It may unlock practical support. The local authority must assist the carer in preparing a support plan to outline how their needs will be addressed, and must consider the support needed across a variety of areas, including practical help. This could include things like respite care, which might actually reduce the frequency of emergency absences from work. Disability Rights UK
It may open financial entitlements. Depending on your circumstances, you may also be eligible for Carer’s Allowance, and the assessment process can help clarify what your are entitled to. This could include paying for help that reduces your need to take time off work.
It’s worth noting that the employment rights, including the Carer’s Leave Act and protection from discrimination, do not depend on having had a formal assessment. You have those rights regardless. The assessment is not a prerequisite, but it is very valuable supporting evidence, particularly if carer-related issues with an employer escalate.
Added Benefits of Carer's Assessment
Once you go through the carer's assessment process your role as a carer is registered with the local authority. That is what I refer to myself as “her registered carer” when speaking to doctors and other health/social care professionals about my mum or partner. For example: “Hello, I am Stephen Cobb, Mrs. Cobb’s husband and registered carer.”
While the term registered career does not have formal legal standing, it can be a very effective term to use. In addition, when you have completed a carer’s assessment you can refer to yourself as “her assessed carer” which does have some legal standing.
Further benefits can arise over time because some local authorities have a process for checking to see if registered carers are receiving all the assistance to which they are entitled. (For any readers who are thinking "you mean they actively try to give away taxpayer money?" the answer is yes, because unpaid carers save taxpayers billions, and helping unpaid workers to cope helps those savings to keep flowing.)
Bear in mind that not all care-related benefits are means tested. My partner was encouraged to apply for something called Attendance Allowance, a weekly sum paid to ease the financial burden of having people attend to the needs created by the medical conditions she has. She did apply and was approved without questions about her income or assets. If you are caring for someone who receives Attendance Allowance, you may be entitled to receive Carers Allowance, to help with costs associated with your care role. (I will expand on this in another post when I get time.)
How to request a Carer’s Assessment
Contact your local council’s adult social care team and ask for a Carer’s Assessment. It can be requested directly by individuals and doesn’t need a GP referral or any employer involvement. The NHS website and Carers Trust UK both have straightforward guidance on the process if she needs a starting point.
Once again, let me say that I found completing the Carer's Assessment, knowing that the information about myh partner's needs was well-documented with the local authority, along with the extent of my role in her care, was an excellent stress-relieving exercise. As a result of the process, we both carry cards that identify who to call in case of an emergency. For example, if I get knocked over by a bus, someone looking through my wallet can see that someone depends on me for support, and there is a number to call that will start the process of providing support in my absence. If my partner gets knocked over, her card means that same support process is initiated and I can be notified. She found that this greatly reduced her anxiety levels.
Unpaid carer support beyond the UK
Sadly, I have not had the time to research the availability of similar levels of support for unpaid carers and other countries. While living in America, I was not aware of anything like Carer's Assessment; however, that doesn't mean it doesn't exist. What has impressed me since moving back to the UK seven years ago is how much support there is for unpaid carers, and how many government measures have been put in place to ensure employers do the right thing when it comes to employees who have had to take on unpaid care work.
