Renfrewshire Council

What Carer's Leave is

Carers leave is up to one week's paid leave (pro-rata) for staff with caring responsibilities. You don't have to take all your carers leave at once. You can request carers leave and use it when you need it, with approval from your line manager.   

When you can request Carer's Leave

If you're the primary carer for someone, you may need paid carer's leave to: 

• provide emergency care for a relative or partner who is ill or injured
• arrange care for a relative or partner who is ill or injured
• manage a transition from one place of care to another, such as moving between home, hospital, or a care home
• manage the hospitalisation of a relative or partner
• manage an unexpected breakdown or change of care arrangements for a relative or partner
• provide support for a terminally ill relative or partner.

This is not a complete list. You should discuss your care needs with your manager first or HR and OD if you need more advice. You can contact in HR and OD by emailing Fiona Sinclair at fiona.sinclair@renfrewshire.gov.uk or Ian Whyte at ian.whyte@renfrewshire.gov.uk.

To request Carer's Leave, you need to be registered on the Carers Register at the council. You can then make a request for Carer's Leave. 

The Carers Register

You need to register with the council's Carers Register first, so you can be officially recognised as a working carer and apply for carer's leave if you need it.

To join the register, you need to:

• be the primary carer
• have at least 26 weeks continuous service
• provide evidence of your caring responsibilities and relationship through your GP or through your local Carers Centre.

If you can't get your GP or Carers Centre to complete the form for you, ask them to provide a letter or email that you can provide with your application form. You can scan, photograph or attach the documentation and include it with your registration form. We'll let you know when you've been added to the carers register.  

Download and complete the Carers Register Application Form [43KB]  and return it to HR and OD by emailing Fiona Sinclair at fiona.sinclair@renfrewshire.gov.uk or Ian Whyte at ian.whyte@renfrewshire.gov.uk.

If you have any difficulty providing evidence of your caring role, email Fiona at fiona.sinclair@renfrewshire.gov.uk or Ian at ian.whyte@renfrewshire.gov.uk for advice.

Apply for carer's leave

When you are on the carer's register, you can apply for carer's leave. 

Complete the Carers Leave Request Form [45KB]  and give it to your manager each time you want to request carer's leave.

Try to give as much notice to your manager as you can, so they can fairly consider your request and make any other necessary adjustments for the time you are off, such as arranging cover or allocating your work to another colleague. 

On the form, you'll need to fill in your:

• name
• designation (job title)
• service
• work location  
• home address
• employee number
• work phone number (if you have one)

You'll also need to state what dates you want your carer's leave to start and end, how many days, half days or hours you want to take and the reason for the request. 

Send this completed form to your manager. If you can't give them a signed and dated copy, send your form to them by email as an attachment, scan or photo, from your work email address.  

The details on your application form are confidential and will only be used by HR and Payroll to process your request.  

Your manager should let you know the decision within 14 days or sooner, depending on your circumstances. If they decline your request for carer's leave, they need to give you a business reason for their decision. The manager's decision is final.

Manager's process for carer's leave requests

Taking your carer's leave

If you've had your request for carer's leave approved, you can take the whole week at once or use it when you need it. You'll need to complete the application form each time you want to use your carer's leave. You and your manager should keep a record of your carer's leave, so you know how much you've taken and how much you have left.   

If you're sharing caring responsibilities with someone else at the council, such as a spouse, partner, family member or friend, only one request for carer's leave can be approved. However, it is possible for both carers to share the week of carer's leave between them.