UK Carer's Leave 2026 — 1 Week Unpaid Day-1 Right + Carer's Allowance

Reviewed by Alex Morgan · Updated April 2026 · Carer's Leave Act 2023 in force since 6 April 2024

The 2026/27 framework at a glance

Element	2026/27	Notes
Length	1 week (5 days FT, pro rata PT)	Per rolling 12-month period
Pay	Unpaid (paid expected April 2027)	Many employers pay contractually above floor
Qualifying period	Day 1	No service requirement
Min taking unit	Half day	Or full days, or continuous block
Notice required	7 days OR 2× length	Whichever is greater
Employer postponement	Up to 1 month	If serious business disruption; cannot refuse outright
Evidence of care need	Not required	Self-declaration sufficient
Right to return	Yes, same role	Same terms and conditions
Protection from detriment	Yes	Cannot dismiss/discipline for taking leave

Who counts as a "dependant"

A dependant for Carer's Leave purposes is anyone who reasonably relies on you for care AND has a long-term care need. The two-part definition matters:

Relationship — the dependant must be one of:

Spouse, civil partner, or partner
Parent or step-parent
Child or step-child
Anyone living in the same household (excluding tenants, lodgers, employees and boarders)
Any other person who reasonably relies on the employee for care

Care need — the dependant must have a long-term care need, defined as:

An illness or injury (physical or mental) expected to last more than 3 months
A disability under the Equality Act 2010
Care needs related to old age

Short-term care needs (e.g. a healthy child off school with flu) are NOT covered by Carer's Leave — those fall under the separate Time Off for Dependants right (s.57A ERA 1996), which is unpaid and limited to "reasonable" time off in genuine emergencies.

How to request the leave

Notify in writing — email to your line manager and/or HR is usually sufficient. Make clear you are requesting Carer's Leave (not annual leave or sick leave).
State the dates — the days or half-days you want to take, and whether continuous or split.
Notice: 7 days or twice the length of the leave, whichever is greater. So a single day needs 2 days' notice; a 3-day request needs 6 days; a full week needs 7 days.
No need to evidence the care need — your employer cannot ask for medical certificates about the dependant or specific caring tasks.
Confirmation: employer must respond confirming or postponing within a reasonable time. Postponement (max 1 month) is only allowed for serious business disruption — not just inconvenience.

What employers must do — and where they go wrong

Employer compliance issues I see most often:

Treating it as an "ask for permission" — Carer's Leave is a statutory right, not a discretion. Refusal is unlawful.
Demanding medical evidence about the dependant — not lawful. The employee's self-declaration is sufficient.
Requiring the leave to be taken in a continuous block — employees can split into half-days, single days, or block.
Postponing on weak grounds — "we're busy" is not enough; postponement must be for serious business disruption.
Not updating contracts — the right exists by statute, but contracts and policies should reference it.
Mishandling part-time entitlements — pro-rated to working pattern. A 3-day-a-week employee gets 3 days, not 5.

Carer's Allowance — the separate DWP benefit

Don't confuse Carer's Leave (employment right) with Carer's Allowance (state benefit). Both can apply, but they operate independently:

	Carer's Leave	Carer's Allowance
Source	Employment law	DWP benefit (state)
Amount	1 week unpaid leave/year	£83.30/week (2026/27)
Triggered by	Long-term care need	35+ hours/week of care + recipient on qualifying disability benefit
Earnings cap	None	£196/week (after tax/NI/expenses)
Application	Notice to employer	Online via gov.uk or DS700 form

Carer's Allowance can affect other means-tested benefits and the recipient of care's benefits in some cases — always check the carer-and-cared-for benefit interactions before claiming. Around 1.4 million UK adults receive Carer's Allowance; an estimated further 600,000 are eligible but haven't claimed.

2027 paid Carer's Leave — what's coming

The Employment Rights Bill 2024 includes provisions to make Carer's Leave paid at the SMP/SPP rate. The commencement date hasn't been confirmed but secondary legislation is expected to bring this into force from April 2027. Likely structure:

Same 1 week per year entitlement (length not changing)
Same day-1 right, dependant definition, notice rules
Pay at the SMP rate (£187.18 for 2026/27, projected £193 for 2027/28) or 90% of average earnings if lower
Employer recovery via the same SMP-style mechanism (small employer recovery rate ~103%)

Until then, the leave remains unpaid statutorily. Employees should always check their contract before assuming unpaid — many UK employers already offer 1-2 weeks at full pay as part of their family-friendly benefits package.