Helen Grant MP welcomes Carer’s Leave Act 2023 coming into force. Thousands of unpaid carers in Maidstone and The Weald to benefit

Westminster, April 2024:  The Carer’s Leave Act 2023 came into force this month, on Saturday 6 April 2024.  It gives people who provide care to a family member, friend or relative, the right to up to five days of unpaid leave from work to fulfil their caring responsibilities.

According to research from Carers UK, up to 2.3 million employees across Great Britain could benefit.  The legislation has been supported by businesses, employers, professional bodies, charities, local authorities, unions and unpaid carers.

Carers UK estimates that, on average, 600 people a day have to give up work in order to care for older, ill or disabled relatives and friends due to a lack of support and flexibility in the workplace. This equates to an astonishing 156,000 people in a working year who are giving up work to be carers.

Leading employers who already offer Carer’s Leave to their employees also say that this kind of support can help to deliver business benefits; improving productivity overall through better staff retention, by reducing recruitment costs, and by supporting employee wellbeing.

Helen Grant MP, said “Passing this legislation fulfilled a Conservative Party manifesto promise from the 2019 General Election, and I am delighted that 4567 of unpaid carers in Maidstone and the Weald will now have access to these new workplace rights.”