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Carer’s Leave Bill: Usdaw welcomes a step in the right direction and calls on the Government to make it paid leave

Retail trade union Usdaw welcomes Peers today passing the Carer’s Leave Bill, which would give people with caring responsibilities a right to unpaid leave from work.

19 May 2023

0 min read

The Bill is now set to becomes law after passing all its parliamentary stages. While welcoming this as a step in the right direction, Usdaw continues to call for the leave to be paid.

Under the Bill, workers providing unpaid care will be able to take up to one week’s leave per year flexibly in small amounts. The entitlement applies to all employees regardless of length of service and starting from day one of employment. The Bill also aims to minimise the pressure on individuals who have both work and caring commitments and help employers maximise the retention and wellbeing of their staff.

Paddy Lillis – Usdaw General Secretary says: “We welcome that carer’s leave has now received statutory recognition. However, any right to leave is really only accessible for low-paid workers if it is paid leave at their average income. That has always been the case, but particularly in a cost of living crisis when most cannot afford to lose income. So, we are now looking for the Government to build on this step in the right direction taken today.

“The vast majority of care in the UK is provided by family and friends, who make up the UK's 6.5 million carers and without their willingness and ability to provide care, local authority social services and the NHS would collapse under the strain. All too often carers feel life is a pressure cooker of competing demands, with worries about money, time off work, their own health and that of the person they are caring for.

“Usdaw has long campaigned for measures to lift the pressure on working carers with a statutory right to paid carer’s leave, improving protection from discrimination and redundancy, along with raising the rate of Carer’s Allowance and extending its reach. Carers deserve to have their invaluable contribution properly rewarded and recognised.”

Notes for editors:

Usdaw (Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers) is the UK's fifth biggest trade union with over 350,000 members. Most Usdaw members work in the retail sector, but the union also has many members in transport, distribution, food manufacturing, chemical industry and other trades www.usdaw.org.uk

Carer’s Leave Bill: https://bills.parliament.uk/bills/3199

Usdaw’s Parents & Carers Campaign: www.usdaw.org.uk/Help-Advice/Parents-Carers

For Usdaw press releases visit: http://www.usdaw.org.uk/news and you can follow us on Twitter @UsdawUnion