The Carer's Leave Bill has passed Committee Stage in the House of Lords!
On Friday 21 October 2022, the Carer's Leave Bill, which would give carers in employment the right to take unpaid leave, passed through its first crucial step and secured Government support. On Wednesday 9 November 2022, the Bill went through more detailed examination and was successful at Committee Stage. The Bill was also successful at Report Stage and Third Reading in the House of Commons, which took place on Friday 3 February 2023.
The Bill started its journey in the House of Lords successfully, passing its Second Reading on Friday 3 March 2023. On Wednesday 19 April 2023, the Bill was successful at Committee Stage.
Carers UK will continue to update briefings and detail on the Bill as it completes its final stages.
About the Carer's Leave Bill - and Carers UK's support
A right to Carer's Leave is an issue that Carers UK has campaigned on for a long time. This has recently taken a firm step forward with the introduction of a Private Members' Bill on Carer's Leave, by Wendy Chamberlain MP, the Liberal Democrat MP for North East Fife. Carers UK is working closely with Wendy to try to make sure this Bill becomes law.
The Bill's long title is: ‘Bill to make provision about unpaid leave for employees with caring responsibilities.’ The Second Reading of the Bill was due to take place in the House of Commons on 9 September 2022, but was suspended due to the death of HM Queen Elizabeth II. The Bill successfully passed its Second Reading and secured vital Government support on the rescheduled date of Friday 21 October 2022 and was also successful at Committee Stage on Wednesday 9 November 2022 and at Report Stage and Third Reading on Friday 3 February 2023.
The Bill began its journey in the House of Lords with a successful Second Reading on Friday 3 March 2023. On Wednesday 19 April 2023, the Bill was successful at Committee Stage. We are grateful to Lord Fox for taking the Bill through the House of Lords.
The Bill's support
We are delighted to have the support of leading employers such as Centrica, TSB, Phoenix as well as small employers such as Agenor Technology, industry bodies such as the Chartered Institute of Personnel Development, unions such as Unison, local government such as the Local Government Association, the Association of Directors of Social Services and Portsmouth City Council, national charities such as Age UK, MS Society and Stroke Association, medical bodies such the Academy of Royal Medical Colleges, and local and national carers organisations such as Caring Together, Sheffield Carers Centre, York Carers Centre, The Coalition of Carers in Scotland, Carers Trust, Gaddum, Wales Carers Alliance and many more.
The need for a right to Carer's Leave
Prior to the coronavirus crisis, almost 5 million people were juggling paid work alongside caring unpaid – about 15% of the UK’s population. In 2020, the number of people in paid work who were also providing unpaid care increased to over 7 million. The stresses and strain of having to juggle paid work alongside unpaid care has led to hundreds of thousands of people having to leave the labour market entirely. On average, 600 people a day leave work to care – with over 500,000 people leaving work to provide unpaid care in the two years before the COVID-19 pandemic.
As our population ages, and changes to the way we work occur as a result of COVID-19, the issue of people juggling work and care is only going grow as a challenge. The UK already lags behind other countries when it comes to workplace rights for carers and it’s time our workplaces reflect the reality of our lives.
What would the Bill do?
The Bill has been published. It would help support unpaid carers to remain in work alongside their unpaid caring responsibilities – and, given the current cost of living crisis, there has never been a more important time to do so.
Carers UK’s evidence from employers, through Employers for Carers, is that a right to Carer’s Leave supports retention and recruitment, as well as the health and wellbeing of employees with caring responsibilities.
Although our ultimate goal remains up to 10 days' paid leave from work for all carers in employment, Carers UK believes that unpaid leave would deliver a number of different benefits.
Passing this Bill would:
- Give rights to at least 2 million employees who are carers.
- Prompt employers to whom this applied to think about their employees with caring responsibilities, and for many, create carer-related policies for the first time.
- Mean that more forward-looking employers would go further than the legislation required and introduce paid Carer’s Leave, to help them stay ahead with recruitment.
- Support carers' health and wellbeing. Research shows that having a supportive employer and the ability to take time off work to provide care (Carer’s Leave) can help to mitigate the pressures carers face.
- Recognise and value carers, which is critically important to them.
Will Wendy's Bill become law?
It’s much harder for Bills to become law if they come through a Private Member’s Bill route. Despite this, Carers UK has previously worked on three successful Private Members’ Bills, and Carer’s Leave is something the Government wants to legislate for. The Conservative Party made a manifesto commitment prior to the General Election in 2019 to legislate to introduce a weeks’ unpaid carer’s leave, and the Government also ran a consultation in 2020 on this issue.
The Bill has cross-party and Government support and is now just a few steps away from becoming law. Carers UK will continue to update briefings and detail on the Bill as it completes its final stages.
Economic and social impact of Carer's Leave
Our research shows that giving carers the right to take Carer’s Leave would:
- Improve finances for carers in the short and longer term as they are more able to juggle work and care.
- 37% of working carers said they needed unpaid Carer’s Leave, and a further 1 in 7 said if they didn’t get it, they would have to reduce working hours or give up work altogether.
- Particularly support women, who are more likely to be juggling work and care, and who are much more likely to be in part-time work rather than full-time.
- Bring increased productivity for employers, who would improve their employee retention rates and reduce their recruitment costs. One employer estimated that they saved around £1.8 million per annum through the application of carer policies in terms of preventing unplanned absences and presenteeism and a further £1.3 million per annum in retention savings.
- Save UK companies up to £4.8 billion a year in unplanned absences and a further £3.4 billion in improved employee retention by adopting flexible working policies to support those with caring responsibilities.
- Bring economic gains for the Treasury, through increased productivity, due to more carers being able to continue juggling work alongside their unpaid caring responsibilities, rather than having to leave the labour market. Our research in 2019 showed as many as 600 people a day were having to quit work because they were not getting the support they needed.
What has happened so far?
Carers UK was very disappointed that an Employment Bill was not announced in the Queen’s Speech this year (2022), meaning that Carer’s Leave was not brought forward by the Government. The Government had already pledged to introduce up to one week’s unpaid leave for unpaid carers within the workplace – both in the Conservative Party’s 2019 manifesto, and through the consultation Government ran in 2020.
Carers UK is pleased that there is now cross-party and Government support for Wendy Chamberlain MP’s Carer’s Leave Bill as it make its way through Parliament.
In 2020, the Government ran a consultation on their plans to introduce a weeks’ unpaid Carer’s Leave, which received a significant number of positive responses.
Carers UK submitted evidence to the consultation and encouraged others to do so. We welcomed Government’s plans but called for any legislation to introduce two weeks’ of paid Carer’s Leave.
The Government's published its response following their consultation on 1 September 2021. You can see the Government’s response in full, here.
Carers UK welcomed the Government’s response.
During and post-COVID-19, it became clear that giving employees with caring responsibilities the right to take Carer’s Leave is more important than ever for families, businesses, and the economy. At a time when the NHS and social care system are under extreme pressure, family support has been relied on more than ever.
Read our latest research
- State of Caring Report 2022 (November 2022)
- Heading for Crisis: Caught between caring and rising costs (October 2022)
- Supporting Carers at Work: Carers Rights Day Report 2021 (November 2021)
- Carers Week 2020: The rise in the number of unpaid carers during the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak (June 2020)
- “Will I Care: The Likelihood of being a carer” (November 2019)
- “Juggling work and unpaid care”(February 2019)
Contact us
For more information about Carer’s Leave, please contact policy@carersuk.org
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