What are my rights as a working carer?
Your rights in work come from two sources:
- The law gives you ‘statutory rights’ which everyone has.
- Your contract of employment gives you ‘contractual rights’ which can be more generous than statutory rights.
In this section, we provide guidance about your statutory and contractual rights as a working carer. It's always worth checking your contract of employment, staff handbook, HR policies or letter of appointment to see if you have any contractual rights on top of your statutory rights.
Note: For further information about your general rights, see the gov.uk website.
For a summary of your statutory rights, you can also take a look at our factsheet, Your rights in work.
Find out more about your rights at work
Latest updates
Employers’ commitment to supporting unpaid carers at work gathers pace
Employers for Carers (EfC), an innovative scheme set up by Carers UK to champion and promote effective workplace support for…
60th Anniversary Stories: Identity Crisis - from Career to Carer
To mark Carers UK's 60th Anniversary in Scotland, we are using our platform to share the stories of carers across…
Charity calls for Employment Rights Bill to go further in supporting millions of unpaid carers to balance paid work and unpaid care
As the Employment Rights Bill progresses through Committee Stage in the House of Lords, Carers UK is calling for Government…
Carers UK response to Select Committee report on cost of inaction on social care
A new report titled 'Adult Social Care Reform: the cost of inaction' is due to be published by Parliament's cross-party…
Got a question about caring?
Every day we hear from people who need help with looking after a friend or family member
Become a member for free
Joining Carers UK is free and takes just a few minutes.