Millions of workers could be given extra paid time off under new rules proposed for carers

MILLIONS of workers could be given extra paid time off under new rules proposed for carers.

The government is evaluating a proposal to grant employees who care for elderly, sick or disabled relatives a set number of paid days off every year.

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The Carer’s Leave Act (2023) gives carers the statutory right to take up to five days of unpaid leave from work each year[/caption]

The plans, long proposed by charity Carers UK, could help address Britain’s employment challenges by making it easier for carers to remain in the workforce.

Unpaid carers save the NHS and social care £162billion a year.

Yet they face a triple hit of higher caring costs and low benefits on top of reduced earnings.

Helen Walker, chief executive at Carers UK said: “We welcome that the government is considering introducing paid carer’s leave, which would be a significant step forward in supporting millions of people – particularly women – to juggle paid work with their unpaid caring responsibilities.

“Employers who have already introduced paid leave for their employees with caring responsibilities say that the benefits of doing so far outweigh the costs and is good for their businesses.”

The charity is calling for carer’s to have a statutory right to a minimum of 10 days of paid leave from work to help keep on top of their caring responsibilities.

Currently, carers are entitled to five unpaid days off, but around 600 people leave the workforce every day to focus entirely on caregiving.

The number of informal carers in the UK has surged by 700,000 since the pandemic, reaching 5.2 million in 2022-23, according to The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP).

Ministers will review the proposal after the summer recess.

A government spokesperson said, “We will examine the feasibility of introducing paid carers’ leave, considering its impact on small employers.

“Helping carers is an important part of our plans to modernise the world of work, ensuring they can enjoy a good job and contribute their skills alongside their valuable role as carers.”

Louise Rubin, head of policy at disability equality charity Scope, said: “Anything that introduces more flexibility into our workplaces is a good idea.

“For too long inflexibility in the workplace has forced disabled people and their families out of work.”

SUPPORT FOR CARERS

There are two main avenues of support for carers in the UK – Universal Credit and carer’s allowance.

The latter counts as a contribution toward your state pension and may open the door for other benefits, including the carer element of Universal Credit which is worth £198.31 a month.

Those who get carer’s allowance in Scotland could get the carer’s allowance supplement, which is currently £577 a year.

Carers over the state pension age may also qualify for the £45.60 carer addition to pension credit.

If you care for someone for 20 hours a week and don’t get carer’s allowance, you should still apply for carer’s credit, which will boost your national insurance credits to protect your state pension.

Some carers may be able to get their council tax reduced if they meet certain criteria, such as caring for someone who is severely mentally impaired.

CARER’S ALLOWANCE

Carer’s allowance is a UK benefit designed to help people who have caring responsibilities for more than 35 hours each week.

Those eligible get £81.90 a week paid directly into bank accounts.

To qualify, the person you care for must already get one of these benefits:

• Personal independence payment (PIP) – daily living component
• Disability living allowance – the middle or highest care rate
• Attendance allowance
• Constant attendance allowance at or above the normal maximum rate with an Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit
• Constant attendance allowance at the basic (full day) rate with a war disablement pension
• Armed forces independence payment

You don’t have to be related to the person or live with them to apply.

But if you share caring responsibilities with someone else, only one of you can make a claim.

Your earnings must also be £151 or less a week after tax, National Insurance and expenses.

Carer’s allowance payments will stop if your income breaches this level, but this may not happen automatically.

In recent months, thousands of carer’s allowance claimants have been unknowingly hit by the hard stop figure and been chased to pay their benefits back.

To avoid falling into this trap, you need to report a change in circumstances to the DWP as soon as your weekly income hits this threshold.

You can apply for the carer’s allowance online by visiting www.gov.uk/carers-allowance/how-to-claim.

UNIVERSAL CREDIT CARER’S ELEMENT

Individuals on Universal Credit could be eligible for a carer’s element within their benefits award.

This element is worth £198.31 per month and could substantially boost your monthly Universal Credit allowance.

You can get this element if you are providing care for at least 35 hours per week for someone who gets

• Attendance allowance
• The highest or middle rate care component of disability living allowance or child disability payment
• The daily living component of personal independence payment (PIP)
• Armed forces independence payment
• Constant attendance allowance of £88.70 per week paid with industrial injuries benefit or war disablement pension

 You do not have to claim carer’s allowance to get this element. 

Unlike carer’s allowance where you are prevented from claiming if you are earning above a certain level, for the Universal Credit carer’s element, your level of earnings does not prevent you from claiming.

However, as the carer’s element is a part of Universal Credit, which is means-tested, your earnings and other income will affect how much you are entitled to overall.

Getting the carer’s element of Universal Credit might affect the benefits of the person you care for.

It could often mean that they’ll lose their entitlement to the severe disability premium (SDP).