Although employers are not legally required to have a specific carers policy in place, there are several other statutory rights which may be particularly relevant to and helpful for working carers.
Right to request flexible working
Any employee with at least 26 weeks’ unbroken employment can make a written request to their employer for flexible working.
Conditions:
- Your employer has 3 months (which can be extended by agreement) within which to resolve the request.
- You can only make one request in any 12-month period.
What kind of change can I request?
- A change in the hours you work
- A change to the times you work
- A change to the place of work
How should I make a request?
You should talk to your employer about how to go about making a flexible working request under the statutory procedure. In general, the request must:
- Be in writing
- Be dated
- State that it is an application made under the statutory procedure
- Specify the change that you are requesting and when you would like the change to take effect.
- Explain what effect, if any, you think the change would have on the business and how this could be effectively dealt with
- State whether you have previously made an application and, if so, when
Time off for dependants / Emergency leave
Under the Employment Rights Act 1996, all employees (regardless of their length of service and whether they work full-time or part-time, or are employed on a permanent, temporary or fixed-term basis) have the right to take a ‘reasonable’ amount of time off work without notice to deal with particular situations affecting their dependants.
Conditions:
- The right to time off is intended to be for emergencies only (i.e. unexpected events, not pre-planned appointments)
- The time taken off is unpaid
- You are not required to produce any evidence of your need to take time off
- There is no limit on the number of times you can exercise the right to time off
Parental leave
Parental leave is available to birth and adoptive parents and also to anyone who has, or expects to have, parental responsibility for a child.
Eligible employees may:
- take up to 18 weeks’ unpaid parental leave for each child for the purpose of caring for that child
- take parental leave at any time before the child’s 18th birthday
- continue to benefit from certain contractual rights and obligations during the period of parental leave absence (similar to those which apply to an employee on maternity leave).
- return to the same job (or in certain cases a suitable alternative job) at the end of the leave.
Conditions:
- You must have been in your current role for at least 1 year
- You must give at least 21 days notice of the period of leave you wish to take
- You must take at least one full week and not more than four weeks’ leave per year in respect of any individual child
- The time taken off is unpaid and your usual contractual agreements regarding benefits and holiday accrual may not apply.
Protection from associative discrimination
The Equality Act (2010) stipulates that job applicants and employees are protected from “associative discrimination”. This makes it unlawful to subject a non-disabled job applicant or employee to direct discrimination or harassment on the grounds of their association with a disabled person.
NOTE: Associative discrimination protection does not extend to protection against indirect discrimination or to the duty to make reasonable adjustments.
For more information and advice:
ACAS (Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service) - free and impartial advice for both employers and employees on all aspects of workplace relations and employment law.
0300 123 1100 www.acas.org.uk
Wiltshire Citizens Advice Bureau - independent, impartial advice and information on a wide range of issues, including finances, employment and legal procedures.
03444 111 444 www.cabwiltshire.org.uk
