Carers - consultation on improving employment rights

Strengthened employment rights may be in the offing for people with unpaid caring responsibilities - and parents with seriously ill children.

In November 2025 the government set out the terms of reference for a review of employment rights for unpaid carers. Now we have a consultation which asks for views, by 1 September 2026, on:

  • whether the existing entitlement to unpaid carer’s leave is working effectively for both carers and employers
  • what more government could do to ensure that carers are supported to remain and progress in work, and
  • options for statutory leave entitlements for carers and parents of seriously ill children, and other support measures such as improvements to guidance and communications

The consultation is not part of the Employment Rights Act 2025 as such but rather forms part of the government’s Next Steps to Make Work Pay agenda.

Current rights for carers are principally contained in the Carer’s Leave Act 2023 which gives employees a right to unpaid time off to care for someone who is disabled, needs care because of old age or has a long-term health condition. The consultation suggests three options for reform:

  1. Extended unpaid leave - increasing the current 5-day entitlement, with the consultation seeking views on how many additional days would be appropriate.
  2. A right to return - introducing a statutory ‘right to return’ after a longer period of intensive caring (similar to protections currently enjoyed by those on maternity leave).
  3. Paid carer’s leave - a short period of paid leave, with the consultation seeking views on duration and rate of pay (options include setting remuneration at 90% of pay, 50% of pay, aligning pay with statutory parental pay, or with SSP rates).

A separate part of the consultation addresses a possible new statutory entitlement to leave and pay for parents of seriously ill children, often referred to as ‘Hugh’s Law’, a term used in recognition of the campaigning undertaken by the family of Hugh Menai‑Davis, who died aged six from cancer in 2021.