Carer's Leave
The Trust recognises and values the contribution of carers and understands the additional pressures carers face when managing both their work and caring responsibilities. To support our employees with caring responsibilities we offer 1 week of paid carer’sleave in any rolling 12-month period (for the definition of 1 week, please see the eligibility criteria section below). The offering of 1 week of paid carer’s leave is in addition to other leave provisions and is available to those who satisfy the eligibility criteria.
Eligibility Criteria
We acknowledge that everyone’s caring responsibilities are different, and people may join BEBCMAT with pre-existing caring responsibilities, therefore employees are eligible to request, with appropriate notice, carer’s leave regardless of length of service. However, to be eligible a carer must have a relationship with the individual which falls within the one of the following categories:
- A spouse or civil partner;
- An employee’s child;
- A parent or parent of partner;
- A person who lives in the same household as the employee (other than by reason of being their employee, tenant, lodger, or boarder);
- A person who reasonably relies on an employee for care.
In addition, the individual requiring care must have a long-term care need. The care need may be due to illness or injury (physical or mental) that requires or is likely to require, care for more than three months; a disability as defined under the Equality Act 2010 or issues related to old age. In most cases, one or two days will be the most that is needed to deal with the immediate issues and arrange longer-term care if necessary.
Employees may be granted up to 1 week’s paid carer’s leave within any rolling 12-month period. carer’s leave can be taken flexibly as whole or half days or a block of one week. For the purposes of carer’s leave, a week is the period that an employee is normally required to work during a week (running Monday to Sunday) under their contract. Where this varies, a week is calculated by dividing by 52 the total amount of time normally required to be worked over the 12 months ending with the last day of the carer’s leave requested.
Carer’s leave will not affect annual or sick leave provisions and employees are not required to exhaust their annual leave before carer’s leave is granted.
What can Carer’s Leave be used for?
Carers leave can be used to carry out a wide range of caring activities which may include one or a combination of the following:
- Providing personal support, such as keeping an eye out for someone, keeping them company, and staying in touch. Accompanying someone to medical or other appointments;
- Attendance at appointments concerning the welfare and care of the person needing care, (e.g., child guidance, making arrangements for the resettlement of a person in long-term sheltered accommodation/nursing home, psychiatric care etc);
- Providing practical support, such as making meals, going shopping for them, laundry, cleaning, gardening, maintenance, and other help around the home;
- Helping with official or financial matters, such as helping with paperwork, dealing with ‘officials’ (also over the phone and the internet), paying bills/rents/rates, collecting pension/benefits;
- Providing personal and/or medical care, such as collecting prescriptions, giving medications, changing dressings, helping them move around the home, getting dressed, feeding, washing, bathing, using the toilet;
- Making arrangements, such as dealing with social services or the voluntary sector, moving someone into a care home, making home adjustments or adaptations.
This list is not exhaustive, and carer’s leave may be granted for other reasons which fall under the spirit of this agreement.
Making a Request
Employees should give their line manager as much notice as possible of the date(s) they would like to take carer’s leave. The leave must be requested in advance of the date(s) required and where reasonably possible should give the minimum notice required:
Line managers cannot unreasonably decline a request for carer’s leave however, they can in some circumstances postpone or refuse the request on that occasion. The grounds on which they can do so will be strictly limited to where the manager considers that the operation of the school would be unduly disrupted. Where this is the case, the manager must consult with the employee to agree a new arrangement, which must be no later than one month after the first day of the leave period originally requested.
The manager must write to the employee setting out the reason for the postponement and the agreed new date(s) for the leave. This should be done as soon as reasonably practicable, but no later than whichever is the earlier of 7 days after the employee gave notice to the manager to request leave, or before the first date given in that notice.
Identification and Disclosure
Carers are not required to disclose to their line manager their caring responsibilities however the success of this policy will rely on managers and employees having open and honest discussions, therefore employees are encouraged to do so.
Upon disclosing caring responsibilities, managers should inform employees of the support options available within the Trust.
Carers are not required to provide evidence to request carer’s leave however false claims for carer’s leave will be considered serious and will be handled in line with the Trust Disciplinary Policy.
Legal Position
Employees are legally protected from suffering any detriment or disadvantage because they are taking or seeking to take carer’s leave.