Guidance

Employment rights for unpaid carers review: terms of reference

Published 19 November 2025

Applies to England, Scotland and Wales

Introduction

The plan to Make Work Pay is a core part of the mission to grow the economy, raise living standards across the country and create opportunities for all. It will help people:

• stay in work
• improve job security
• boost living standards

This ambition includes helping unpaid carers to balance their work and personal lives. Supporting carers to work alongside managing their caring responsibilities is an important element of our plans to modernise the world of work, ensuring that there are good jobs for carers and a skilled workforce for employers.

The Carer’s Leave Act 2023 gave employees a right to time off to care for someone who:

• is disabled
• has a physical or mental illness requiring more than 3 months care
• needs care for a reason connected to old age

The entitlement to unpaid carer’s leave was introduced in April 2024.

The plan to Make Work Pay promised to review the implementation of unpaid carer’s leave, as well as examine the potential benefits of introducing paid carer’s leave, while being mindful of the impact of any changes on small employers.

This government is committed to considering whether there is a need to change the current approach to ensure carers and their dependents have the right support in place.

This review presents an opportunity to consider our approach to employment rights for unpaid carers, particularly leave entitlements, giving due consideration to balancing costs and benefits to both businesses and the exchequer.

Aims of the review

The government’s aim for this review is to:

• understand how the existing unpaid carer’s leave entitlement is working: this will include establishing which aspects are working well and whether there are any barriers to specific groups of unpaid carers understanding or using the current entitlement
• examine options for different models of paid carer’s leave, while being mindful of the impact of any changes on employers, particularly small businesses
• consider the options and principles for additional interventions, such as extensions to the current unpaid entitlement, which may also help unpaid carers enter, remain in and progress in the workplace
• identify options with low or no cost to business and the exchequer and appropriate routes for implementation

Approach to the review

We need to ensure that decisions about support for carers are grounded in evidence about what works for carers and employers. It is important that we give the new entitlement time to become established. This will allow us to build an understanding of how well that is working and make informed decisions about where there may be a need for further policy development.

To do so, we will undertake both qualitative and quantitative research, which will be underpinned by extensive stakeholder engagement and consideration of international examples. This will expand our existing evidence base and understanding of the current system.

We will use the review to establish what employment rights unpaid carers in Great Britain need, supporting our modern economy and providing better outcomes for those balancing work with care.

Unpaid carers make a valuable contribution to society and the government is committed to ensuring that there are good jobs for carers, and a skilled workforce for employers. We want to help carers enter, remain in and progress in the workforce.

The review will consider other government priorities such as:

• the 10 Year Health Plan for England by supporting the physical and mental health of carers as they balance work with caring responsibilities
• Kickstarting Economic Growth by enabling more carers to participate in the workforce

Scope of the review

Great Britain currently has an unpaid leave entitlement for carers. This review will consider the effectiveness of the current entitlement and the case for further interventions.

Employment policy is transferred to Northern Ireland and so this will be out of scope of the review.

This review does not presuppose reforms being made to the existing employment rights available to unpaid carers, which will be assessed in light of the body of evidence gathered through our work.

In the course of this review we will consider the merits of further policy development such as the introduction of:

• a paid leave entitlement
• a one-off, extended unpaid leave entitlement
• a paid leave entitlement for the parents of seriously ill children
• other situational paid leave entitlements to support carers in specific circumstances (such as individuals providing end of life care)

This will include the publication of a consultation on employment support for unpaid carers and support for parents of seriously ill children.

The consultation will include consideration of Hugh’s Law, proposed by the charity It’s Never You, which aims to provide financial support and leave for parents in the days and months following their child being diagnosed with a serious illness.

There are a number of areas where there are clear links and interdependencies with wider government support for unpaid carers. The review will work closely with other departments and devolved governments to ensure that it complements existing work in the health, education and welfare sectors.

Specific reforms to areas outside employment rights for unpaid carers will not be within scope of the review.

Governance

This will be an internal government review, led by the Department for Business and Trade. The work of this review will report to the Minister for Employment Rights and Consumer Protection.

There has already been, and will continue to be, extensive work and engagement with devolved governments and other government departments with an interest in unpaid care to inform the findings and outcomes of the review.

A summary report will be published following the conclusion of the review.

Timeline

The review launched in autumn 2024. The review will be carried out in 3 key phases, each building on the previous stage to ensure a thorough, evidence-based approach. We expect the review to conclude by the end of 2026.

Phase 1: evidence gathering and stakeholder engagement (autumn 2024 to winter 2025 to 2026)

We will gather evidence through:

• reviewing existing literature
• commissioning quantitative and qualitative research
• engaging with experts in the charity sector, business, trade unions and academia

Phase 2: options development and consultation (winter 2025 to 2026 to autumn 2026)

We will refine potential policy options for supporting carers to balance work and care. This will include:

• considering targeted measures for parents of seriously ill children
• a formal public consultation for 10 to 12 weeks to seek views on potential policy options

Phase 3: final report (autumn 2026 to winter 2026 to 2027)

The government will conclude the review with a consultation response, a set of findings and a roadmap, including next steps for taking any potential reforms forward to implementation.

Engagement

The government is determined that this will be an evidence-based review that reflects and considers views and perspectives from the wide range of people who engage with unpaid care.

We welcome views from, and intend to engage constructively with, a wide range of external stakeholders such as groups representing:

• carers
• parents of seriously ill children
• trade unions
• employers or employer representatives

We will also engage directly with carers to hear their views first hand and examine international examples of other systems of employment support for unpaid carers.

There will be opportunities for stakeholders to contribute views and expertise throughout the review through government led roundtables and meetings, as well as a public consultation.