The Bill received was passed unopposed by the House of Commons and is set to receive its second reading in the House of Lords on Friday 3 March. Usdaw will be looking for the Bill to be amended at a later stage to make the proposed leave paid.
Under the Bill, unpaid working carers 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 the proposal to give carer’s leave statutory recognition and we hope Peers will support this on Friday. 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 will be looking for Peers to seek to amend the Bill as it progresses through the Lords.
“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 around 360,000 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