Renfrewshire Council

What you need to check first

When you receive a request for carer's leave from a team member, you should discuss their requirements with them first. 

Before you review their request, you should:

• check they are listed on the Carers Register - contact Fiona Sinclair at fiona.sinclair@renfrewshire.gov.uk or Ian Whyte at ian.whyte@renfrewshire.gov.uk
• confirm they are the primary carer and who the person is they care for
• ask how many hours or days of carer's leave they want to take
• confirm the dates their carer's leave will start and finish.

An employee can only be registered on the Carer's Register if they have at 26 weeks or more continuous service.

What the Carer's register is

Things to consider

When making your decision, you should take into consideration:

• the carer's relationship to their relative or partner
• the nature of the relative or partner's illness
• the expected duration of the leave
• any operational impact or costs on service delivery 
• if your team member's work needs to be redistributed.

Your team member only needs to tell you details they are comfortable sharing with you and will help you decide about their request. 

The Carer Passport [217KB] can help you have the conversation about with your team member about their caring responsibilities.

You should inform your team member of your decision as soon as you can. You should not take more than 14 days to let them know the outcome. 

Approving or declining the request

If you approve the request for carer's leave, you'll need to tell your team member in writing or by email you've approved their request.

Send the completed Carer's Leave request form [45KB] to: 

• Fiona Sinclair at fiona.sinclair@renfrewshire.gov.uk
• Ian Whyte at ian.whyte@renfrewshire.gov.uk

If you refuse the request for carer's leave, you need to tell your team member in writing or by email, providing them with a business reason for the refusal. 

There may be reasons why the carer can't apply or take Carer's Leave. They:

• may not be eligible for Carer's Leave
• have taken all their Carer's Leave already
• need the time off now, before it can be approved. In this case you can email Fiona Sinclair at fiona.sinclair@renfrewshire.gov.uk or Ian Whyte at ian.whyte@renfrewshire.gov.uk to discuss.

You may need to consider other options with your team member, such as special leave, annual leave, flexitime or unpaid leave. 

Contact the HR and OD team at hrpolicy@renfrewshire.gov.uk if you need advice.