Carer's leave 2026/27: how much you get, whether it is paid, and how to ask
Employees get one week of unpaid carer's leave in any 12 months to care for a dependant with a long-term care need. Notice, postponement and your rights.
If you are an employee and someone depends on you because of a long-term illness, a disability or old age, you can take up to one week of carer's leave in any 12 months, from your first day in the job. It is unpaid unless your contract says otherwise. Give notice of twice as many days as you want off (at least three days); your employer can postpone the leave for up to a month but cannot refuse it (GOV.UK: unpaid carer's leave; Carer's Leave Regulations 2024). The Regulations extend to England, Wales and Scotland (regulation 1(3)); Northern Ireland has separate employment law that this page does not cover.
How much have I used, and when must I ask?
Lists one day per line, as 2026-11-09 or 9/11/2026, with "half" after the date for a half day.
Enter your days and press Check.
Regulation 7(2)(d) and (3) require notice to be given before the date that is the required number of days ahead of your first day of leave, so the deadline shown is the day before that date (one day earlier than GOV.UK's "at least" wording suggests). Your employer can accept shorter notice if it chooses (regulation 7(5)).
Who counts as a dependant, and what is a long-term care need
The leave is to "provide or arrange care" for a dependant with a long-term care need (Employment Rights Act 1996 s.80J, inserted by the Carer's Leave Act 2023). Under s.80J(2)(a) a person is your dependant if they:
- are your spouse, civil partner, child or parent;
- live in the same household as you, other than as your boarder, employee, lodger or tenant; or
- reasonably rely on you to provide or arrange care.
So it does not have to be a relative. GOV.UK puts it as "anyone who relies on them for care". Under s.80J(2)(b) they have a long-term care need if they:
- have an illness or injury, physical or mental, that requires or is likely to require care for more than three months;
- have a disability for the purposes of the Equality Act 2010; or
- require care for a reason connected with their old age.
The right belongs to employees, and applies from the first day of employment: regulation 4 sets no qualifying period, and GOV.UK says employees are entitled "from their first day of work for their employer". Your employer cannot require evidence of the care need before granting the leave (regulation 7(4)).
How much: one week in a rolling 12 months
- One week during the "relevant period" (regulation 5(1)). The relevant period is "a period of 12 months which ends on the last day of the carer's leave the employee has requested" (regulation 3). It is not a calendar year or your holiday year: each time you ask, you look back 12 months from the last day you are asking for.
- A week means your working week. It is the time you normally work in a week (regulation 6). GOV.UK's example: if you usually work 3 days a week, you can take 3 days.
- Irregular hours. If your hours vary, a week is the total you were normally required to work over the relevant period divided by 52, or by the number of weeks you have been employed if that is less than 52. In your first week, it is the time you are expected to work that week (regulation 6(3) to (5)).
- Half days, days or one block. The minimum is half a working day and the maximum is one continuous week; the days do not have to be consecutive (regulation 5(2) to (4)).
- One week in total, not per person. GOV.UK: if you care for more than one person you "cannot take a week of carer's leave for each dependant", but you can split your week between them.
- Separate from parental leave. GOV.UK notes that parents can also take up to 18 weeks' parental leave to look after their child, separately from carer's leave.
How to ask: notice rules
Under regulation 7, your notice must say that you are entitled to carer's leave (that you have a dependant with a long-term care need and want the time to provide or arrange care for them), give the days you want, and say if any of it is part of a day. One notice can cover all or part of your week.
| You ask for | Minimum notice |
|---|---|
| Half a day or one day | 3 days |
| Two days (or a day and a half day) | 4 days |
| Three days | 6 days |
| A five-day block | 10 days |
The rule (regulation 7(3)) is the longer of twice the number of days or part days in the notice, or three days, counted back from the first day of leave. GOV.UK adds that the notice is in full days even if you ask for half days, and that the request does not have to be in writing, though putting it in an email gives you a record. If you give less notice, your employer can choose to waive the requirement (regulation 7(5)).
Can your employer say no? Postponement, not refusal
GOV.UK: employers "cannot refuse a carer's leave request but can ask the employee to take it at a different time". Under regulation 8 they can postpone only if all of these are met:
- you gave notice under regulation 7;
- the employer reasonably considers the business would be unduly disrupted if you took the leave then;
- they let you take the same amount of leave, starting on a date they set after consulting you, no later than one month after the first day you asked for;
- they give you written notice stating the reason and the agreed new dates; and
- that notice reaches you as soon as reasonably practicable and no later than the earlier of seven days after your notice, or before the first day you asked for.
If your employer unreasonably postpones your leave, or prevents or tries to prevent you taking it, you can complain to an employment tribunal, which can declare that and award compensation it considers just and equitable (s.80N).
Is carer's leave paid?
No, not by law. During carer's leave you keep the benefit of your terms and conditions, but "terms and conditions" here "does not include terms and conditions about remuneration" (s.80K(3)(b); regulation 9, which treats only wages or salary as remuneration). There is no statutory carer's pay, and GOV.UK's page is titled "Unpaid carer's leave".
- Your contract may be better. If your employer gives a contractual right to carer's leave (paid or longer), you cannot take both separately, but you can use whichever right is more favourable in each respect (regulation 14). Check your contract or handbook.
- Everything else carries on. Benefits other than pay continue, and GOV.UK says employment rights "like holidays and returning to their job" are protected during carer's leave. How holiday pay is worked out is in our holiday pay calculation guide.
- Week's pay averages. Where a statutory "week's pay" is averaged over 12 weeks under the 1996 Act and one of those weeks had carer's leave with lower pay, that week is ignored and an earlier one used instead (regulation 13).
Your job is protected
- Return to the same job after an isolated period of carer's leave, with your seniority, pension and similar rights as if you had not been away (regulation 10).
- No detriment. Your employer must not subject you to a detriment because you took, sought to take or used the benefits of carer's leave, or because it thought you were likely to take it (regulation 11, under s.47C(2)(bc)).
- Dismissal is automatically unfair if the reason or main reason is connected with carer's leave, including being selected for redundancy for that reason (regulation 12, s.99). The usual qualifying period for unfair dismissal does not apply to these dismissals (s.108(3)(b)).
- Time limits are now six months. From 1 October 2026 the Employment Rights Act 2025 raised the time limit from three months to six for tribunal complaints about carer's leave (s.80N), detriment (s.48(3)) and unfair dismissal (s.111(2)) (ERA 2025 Schedule 12, commenced by SI 2026/954 regulation 3). Under regulation 4 of that SI the longer limit does not apply where the relevant date was before 1 October 2026: for these complaints, the date of the act complained of (or the last in a series), or for unfair dismissal the effective date of termination. GOV.UK points to Acas for advice on carer's leave.
Carer's leave, emergencies, flexible working and Carer's Allowance
- Emergencies: time off for dependants. For something you could not plan for, such as a dependant falling ill or care arrangements breaking down, you can take "a reasonable amount of time off" with no set amount and no advance notice; tell your employer as soon as you can. It is a separate right, and your employer "may pay you ... but they do not have to" (GOV.UK: time off for dependants). It does not cover things you knew about beforehand, which is where carer's leave fits.
- Flexible working is a request to change your contract terms on the hours you work, the times you work or where you work (s.80F), rather than a few days off. See our flexible working request guide.
- Carer's Allowance is a benefit, not leave. You do not need it to take carer's leave, and the person you care for does not need to get a disability benefit for carer's leave. Carer's Allowance is different: the person you care for must get a qualifying disability benefit, you must care for at least 35 hours a week, and your earnings must be £204 or less a week after tax, National Insurance and expenses (GOV.UK: Carer's Allowance eligibility). Because carer's leave is unpaid it adds nothing to your earnings, and it can lower your pay for the period it falls in. Check your figures with the Carer's Allowance earnings limit calculator and read the Carer's Allowance 2026/27 guide. In Scotland the benefit is Carer Support Payment instead.
Is paid carer's leave coming? What is law and what is only a proposal
- Law now: one week of unpaid leave in any 12 months, under the 2024 Regulations, in force since 6 April 2024 (regulation 1(2)).
- Employment Rights Act 2025: it does not make carer's leave paid. The only provision in the Act that mentions carer's leave is the longer tribunal time limit for s.80N complaints described above, in force from 1 October 2026 (Schedule 12 paragraph 4(24)).
- Proposal only: the government consulted from 9 June to 1 September 2026 on employment rights for unpaid carers and parents of seriously ill children, as part of its review of the Carer's Leave Act 2023 (consultation). Its announcement said the proposals under consideration include "introducing paid carer's leave for the first time" and a new right to return to work after a period of intensive caring (DBT press release). When we checked on 30 October 2026 no government response had been published, so nothing has been decided.
- Budget 2026: the Budget document of 28 October 2026 does not mention carer's leave (Budget 2026).
Frequently asked questions
How much carer's leave can I take?
One week in any 12 months. A week is the time you normally work in a week, so if you work three days a week you get three days. It is one week in total, not one week for each person you care for, and you can take it as half days, whole days or one block of up to a week.
Is carer's leave paid?
Not by law. The Employment Rights Act 1996 keeps your terms and conditions running during carer's leave except those about pay, so the statutory right is unpaid. Your contract or staff handbook may give paid carer's leave; if it does, you can use whichever terms are better.
How much notice do I need to give for carer's leave?
Twice as many days as the days or part days you are asking for, and at least three days. A half day or one day needs three days' notice, two days need four, a five-day block needs ten. It does not have to be in writing, and your employer cannot ask for evidence before granting it.
Can my employer refuse carer's leave?
No. They can only postpone it, and only if your absence would unduly disrupt the business. They must consult you, let you take the same amount of leave starting no later than one month after the first day you asked for, and give you written reasons and the new dates within seven days of your notice and before the leave was due to start.
Do I need to have worked for my employer for a while?
No. Carer's leave is a right from your first day as an employee. In your first week, a week of leave is the time you are expected to work that week.
Is paid carer's leave coming?
It is being considered, not decided. The government consulted from 9 June to 1 September 2026 on rights for unpaid carers, including introducing paid carer's leave. The Employment Rights Act 2025 does not make carer's leave paid. When we checked on 30 October 2026 no government response had been published.