ABOUT THIS POLICY
1.1. The law recognises and we respect that there may be occasions when you will need to take time off work to provide or arrange care for a dependant with a long-term care need. The purpose of this policy is to set out the circumstances in which we will give employees unpaid time off work to deal with these situations. For time off for dependants to deal with unexpected events, please see our Time off for Dependants Policy.
1.2. No-one who takes time off in accordance with this policy will be subjected to any detriment.
1.3. This policy does not form part of any contract of employment or other contract to provide services, and we may amend it at any time.
2. WHO DOES THIS POLICY APPLY TO?
2.1. This policy only applies to employees and does not apply to Umbrella/PEO workers (who are not employees and may otherwise be called ‘limb (b) workers’), agency workers, self-employed contractors, volunteers or interns.
3. TIME OFF
3.1. You have a right to take up to one week of unpaid time off work in each rolling 12-month period to provide or arrange care for a dependant with a long-term care need.
3.2. A dependant for the purposes of this policy is:
- (a) your spouse, civil partner, child or parent;
- (b) a person who lives in the same household as you, but who is not your tenant, lodger, boarder or employee; or
- (c) anyone else who reasonably relies on you to provide or arrange care for them.
3.3 A dependant has a long-term care need for the purposes of this policy if:
- (a) they have an illness or injury (whether physical or mental) that requires, or is likely to require, care for more than three months;
- (b) they have a disability for the purposes of the Equality Act 2010; or
- (c) they require care for a reason connected with their old age.
4 AMOUNT OF TIME OFF
4.1. You may take a minimum of half a working day's leave under this policy and up to a maximum of one week's leave. You do not need to take the days consecutively, provided that you take no more than the equivalent of one working week's leave in each rolling 12-month period.
4.2. If the amount of time you work varies from week to week, a week's leave will be an average of a week's work:
- (d) If you have been employed for at least a year, this will be calculated by dividing the total of the periods for which you were normally required to work during the course of a week in the previous 12 months by 52.
- (e) If you have been employed for less than a year, this will be calculated by dividing the total of the periods for which you were normally required to work during the course of a week by the number of weeks you have been employed.
5. EXERCISING THE RIGHT TO TIME OFF
5.1. To take leave under this policy you must give to your line manager the longer of: three days' notice or twice as many days' notice as the number of days you want to take off.
5.2. The notice must:
- (a) specify that you are entitled to take carer's leave in accordance with 0 of this policy; and
- (b) specify the days you intend to take carer's leave and if you will take a full or a half day.
5.3. If you fail to notify us as set out above, you may be subject to disciplinary proceedings under our Disciplinary Procedure for taking unauthorised time off.
5.4. In some circumstances, where the operation of the business would be disrupted if you took leave, we may need to postpone your carer's leave. If we do this, we will allow you to take the same amount of leave you have requested at a mutually convenient time within one month of the first day you requested to take leave under this policy. If this happens, we will write to you within seven days of your request to take leave, setting out the reason for the postponement and the days we have agreed you can take carer's leave.
5.5. If you take carer's leave and any other statutory leave (for example, maternity or adoption leave) consecutively, carer's leave does not count when calculating the period of time you have been away from work in respect of your right to return to the job in which you were previously engaged.
