How much carer's leave can be taken

Total entitlement

Eligible employees can take up to 1 working week of carer's leave in any rolling 12-month period. This can be taken in one go, or in separate periods. It can be taken in half or full days.

The entitlement doesn't increase if you need to care for more than one dependant – you can still only take 1 week in total.

1 working week

A working week is the period you're normally expected or required to work in a week at the time you make your request. This is usually determined by the days stated in your employment contract.

For example, an employee who normally works 5 days a week will be entitled to 5 days of carer's leave. One who works 3 half days a week will be entitled to 3 half days, and so on.

If your working week varies (including situations where you're contractually required to work some weeks but not others), your entitlement is calculated by taking the average of your normal working periods over the previous 52 weeks.

If you've been employed for less than 52 weeks, the average is taken over the number of weeks you've been employed for. If you've been employed for less than a week, a week's leave is the period you're expected to work in that week.

Rolling 12-month period

Rolling means that when you request a period of carer's leave, your employer counts back 12 months from the last day of the period you're requesting and then counts how much (if any) carer's leave you've taken during that time.

Example: an employee is entitled to 5 days of carer's leave. They request 3 days from 4-6 December 2025. They need to have taken no more than 2 other days of carer's leave since 7 December 2024.