The Government is considering whether the employment rights available to unpaid carers should go further. A new consultation explores everything from extending carers’ leave and introducing paid leave for the first time to creating new protections for parents whose children are diagnosed with a serious illness. Although no law has changed yet, the proposals offer an early indication of where employment law may be heading and give employers an opportunity to prepare.
What the law currently provides
Many employers will already be familiar with the right to unpaid carers’ leave, introduced by the Carer’s Leave Act 2023. Eligible employees can currently take up to five unpaid days each year to provide or arrange care for someone with long-term care needs.Employers cannot refuse a request for carer’s leave. However, they may postpone it where the operation of the business would be unduly disrupted, provided they give written reasons and allow the employee to take the leave within a prescribed period.
. Employees are protected from detriment and from dismissal for exercising the right.
That right sits alongside a broader set of protections for employees with caring responsibilities. Workers can request flexible working arrangements, take unpaid time off to deal with dependant emergencies, and rely on the protections against discrimination and discrimination by association under the Equality Act 2010. Parents have access to unpaid parental leave, and more recently introduced neonatal care leave provisions support those whose babies require specialist hospital care.
Ministers are asking whether these protections remain fit for purpose, and whether further measures are needed to help unpaid carers stay in, return to, and progress within the workforce.
Why is reform being considered?
The consultation reflects two commitments made by the Government in recent legislation. When the Employment Rights Act 2025 was passed, ministers confirmed they would review the rights available to parents of seriously ill children. A parallel commitment was made through the Plan to Make Work Pay to review the implementation of the Carer’s Leave Act 2023 and assess whether additional support was needed.
The review is also shaped by a broader demographic picture. As the population ages, more working-age adults are taking on caring responsibilities alongside employment. The paper frames this as both an employment rights issue and an economic one, noting that many carers reduce their hours, decline promotion opportunities, or leave work altogether because of caring demands. Retaining those individuals in the workforce is presented as a policy objective in its own right.
What the consultation proposes
The proposals cover four distinct areas, each targeting a gap in the current framework.
One question is whether the existing five-day unpaid carer’s leave entitlement remains sufficient. The review invites views on extending it, with suggested options ranging from six to ten days, though respondents are free to propose alternative durations. Questions are also raised about whether employees should have greater flexibility in how the leave is taken and whether the current eligibility criteria remain appropriate.
The consultation also considers whether employees taking an extended period of carer’s leave should benefit from a statutory right to return to their job, modelled on the protections that currently apply following maternity leave. The concern is that employees may feel unable to use leave they are entitled to because they fear for their role, their career prospects, or their job security. A formal right to return would address that deterrent directly.
More fundamentally, the proposals examine whether a period of paid carer’s leave should be introduced. The current entitlement has been available from day one of employment since the Act came into force, but it is unpaid, and for many carers the financial impact of taking unpaid time off is the single biggest barrier to using the right at all. The review seeks views on the appropriate rate and duration of any paid entitlement, with options including pay at 90% of earnings or at a rate equivalent to statutory sick pay. Any decision here will need to weigh the practical benefit to employees against the cost and administrative implications for employers.
Separate proposals focus on parents of seriously ill children. These have become known as Hugh’s Law, named after six-year-old Hugh Menai-Davis, who died from cancer in 2021. His family, through their charity It’s Never You, have campaigned for paid leave and financial support for families facing a child’s serious diagnosis. The consultation proposes a one-off period of paid leave for parents in this situation and seeks views on how ‘serious illness’ should be defined, how long the entitlement should be, and at what rate it should be paid.
What could this mean in practice?
While no changes are guaranteed, the consultation provides a useful indication of the Government’s priorities. As with any consultation, the proposals may be adopted in full, amended significantly, or not taken forward at all, but if even some are implemented employers could face a significant expansion of family-related employment rights over the next few years.
For employees, the proposals point towards stronger legal protections across the board. If paid leave is introduced, even at a modest rate, it would remove the financial deterrent that currently makes the unpaid entitlement inaccessible for many. A statutory right to return modelled on maternity protections would represent a substantive shift, bringing carers’ leave more closely into line with other family-related rights.
For employers, much will depend on how any paid entitlement is structured. If paid carer’s leave is introduced through a direct employer obligation rather than a state-backed reimbursement model similar to statutory maternity pay, it would represent a new cost to manage. Those with already generous carer’s policies may find the changes easier to absorb, but employers who have so far met only the statutory minimum would face more substantial adjustments to HR practice and payroll administration.
For parents navigating a child’s serious illness, Hugh’s Law has the potential to be transformative. The ability to take paid time away from work at the point of diagnosis, without the compounding pressure of financial hardship, addresses a gap that has long been apparent in the framework of family-related employment rights.
What employers should do now
The consultation closes at 11:59pm on 1 September 2026. Responses can be submitted online via the Government’s consultation portal, by email to unpaidcarers@businessandtrade.gov.uk, or by post to the Unpaid Carers Policy Team, Department for Business and Trade, Old Admiralty Building, Admiralty Place, London, SW1A 2DY.
Whatever the outcome, now is a sensible time for employers to review their existing carer’s leave policies. Clear procedures, up-to-date documentation, and well-briefed managers will put organisations in a stronger position if the law changes, while also helping to support employees who are already balancing work with caring responsibilities.
If you would like advice on your current obligations, or want to understand how these proposals may affect your organisation, our employment team can help. Get in touch to speak with one of our specialists.
