Your Rights
As a carer, knowing your rights empowers you with information about what you’re entitled to. This helps you feel confident asking for what you need, as well as challenging things when your rights are not being met – whether that be in the workplace or education, in accessing health or social care, or when interacting with other professionals or at home.
Right to a Carers Assessment
A Carers Assessment is for anyone over 18 years old who is looking after another adult (over 18 years) who is disabled, ill or elderly. It is a chance to talk about your needs and whether some extra support with your caring role to make life easier for you. You have a right to a Carers Assessment if you provide unpaid support to someone who wouldn’t manage without that help.
You can find out more on our Carers Assessment page
Right to a Parent Carer Needs Assessment
A Parent Carer Needs Assessment is for a parent carer of a child who is disabled (who they have parental responsibility for). It is a chance to discuss your needs and can help get you some extra support with your caring role to make life easier for you. This assessment must consider your wellbeing and the welfare of the child you care for. If you are not a parent carer (for example you are a grandparent) you can request an assessment and will have to show you are providing regular and substantial care.
Carers UK have a helpful factsheet for more information about assessments if you care for a disabled child
Rights at work
It can be difficult to balance working and caring for somebody. There are two types of rights in work: Statutory rights which come from national law and contractual rights which are individual and based on your contract of employment.
It is worth checking your contract for work as well as any policies or staff handbooks that your work has to see if you have any specific rights that may be useful.
Your statutory rights cover:
- Your right to unpaid Carer’s Leave: Earlier this year the Carer’s Leave Act was introduced giving unpaid carers the legal right to up to 5 days unpaid leave each year.
- Your right to protection from discrimination: If you care for somebody you are protected from discrimination or harassment based on your caring role by the Equality Act 2010
- Your right to flexible working: If you are juggling being an unpaid carer with working, you can request flexible working from day one of your employment. This could involve you working from home, changing your hours or job sharing and can be a helpful way to manage some of your work life balance reducing pressure on you. Think about ways that your work could be adapted to work better for you but also to positively impact your job and consider offering a trial period. Your employer doesn’t have to grant the request but they must give good reasons if they do not.
- Your right to take time off in emergencies: You have the right to take a reasonable amount of time off to deal with an emergency involving a dependent. This could be a child but also somebody who you care for that relies on you. This time off will often be unpaid unless there is any specific process in your contract.
- The right to parental leave: If you care for somebody under 19 and have worked for your employer for 12 months you are entitled to 18 weeks of leave per child (this must be taken by their 18th birthday). Again this is unpaid leave unless your contract specifies otherwise.
Right to request a free flu jab
It is important to look after your health and wellbeing so as a carer you are able to request a free flu jab, if you’d like to. Speak to your GP or local pharmacist
