When you become a carer, your whole life changes. Not only do you have to worry about the person you’re caring for, but you also have to think about how your own life is affected. One thing that can be particularly difficult is trying to juggle work with your new caring responsibilities. Thankfully, there are a number of carers’ rights at work that can help make things a little easier. In this blog post, we’ll take a look at some of these rights and explain how they can help you manage your work and caring responsibilities.
Now that things are slowing returning to normal, post pandemic, it is more important than ever to be aware of the rights you have, to help reduce the burden of balancing a job whilst caring for a loved one.
Do carers have any rights?
It’s critical to understand your rights as a caregiver to help access the support you deserve. The Care Act 2014 introduced a number of carer’s rights. The act was set out to enable those in need of support to have greater influence about how care is delivered and set a cap on how much anyone has to contribute toward their care costs.
What are my employment rights as a carer?
The Care Act 2014 included several rights for carers in the workplace. These involved:
- The right to flexible working
- The right to time off for carer’s duties
- The right to paid carer’s leave
Additionally, under the Equality Act 2010 you will be protected against discrimination or harassment that may occur in the workplace because of your caring obligations.
Are carers allowed time off work ?
If you care for someone for at least 20 hours per week, you have the right to take time off work without fear of negative repercussions. This can be used when you need to care for that person or attend certain meetings and appointments.
As a carer, there are some occasions where you might not be able to make it into work – whether it’s because your carer duties mean you can’t spare any time away from your patient or because they are ill themselves. If this happens, do not fear – your employer is obliged to allow you paid carer’s leave.
By Tabitha Desmond
Working for Carers is a London-wide project that supports unpaid carers, aged 25 or over, to move closer to employment. The project is led by Carers Trust and delivered by its network of partners across London. Working for Carers is funded by the European Social Fund and The National Lottery Community Fund.