It’s 9 am on a Monday, and one of your top analysts is already on her second coffee after a night of broken sleep. She’s brilliant at her job, and also an unpaid carer. Juggling hospital appointments and emergency call-outs, she often burns through annual leave to cover clinic times. The moment a crisis strikes, everything at work grinds to a halt. But if you capture carer needs upfront (and route time off through your workforce management software), small operational tweaks can prevent avoidable resignations.
This issue is by no means niche: the latest census-backed estimates suggest there are around 5.8 million unpaid carers in the UK. Many want to stay in work, but without the right support, they scale back. In Carers UK’s 2024 findings, 44% of working carers said they had reduced their hours to care, and significant numbers reported taking lower-paid roles or leaving work entirely. Today, we’ll be talking about the small, humane adjustments you can make to keep those people (and their skills) with you.
Why This Matters
Did you know that around one in seven UK employees are combining paid work and unpaid care? Unfortunately, this proportion is expected to increase as the need for caregivers rises. Two powerful push factors include financial pressure and rigid schedules.
Carers UK’s 2024 survey found that 56% of working carers didn’t feel able to use their statutory Carer’s Leave, precisely because it is unpaid. Others report cutting hours, stepping down to lower-paid roles, or leaving work altogether.
Although the law now provides a day-one right to up to one week of unpaid Carer’s Leave each year, the lack of pay means the people who need it most often can’t afford to take it (especially in households already stretched by caring costs).
For employers, the commercial risk is obvious: replacing people who leave routinely outweighs the small outlay of simple adjustments (predictable rotas, quick leave routes, modest paid top-ups, or flexible patterns).
Make it Easy in Your Absence Processes
Small adjustments can often be the difference between a valued colleague staying or slipping away.
Removing the financial sting from taking time out to care isn’t as hard as it seems, and it doesn’t take a wholesale policy rewrite: just some consistent processes that managers can apply.
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Predictable scheduling (carer windows)
Agree on recurring protected hours (e.g., 08:30–09:30 for school or care handovers) and publish them team-wide, so that meetings aren’t scheduled at those times by accident.
In your workforce management software, add these as working-pattern rules so that clash checks and rota builders automatically respect them.
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Rapid-response leave route
Create a short, manager-light path for urgent appointments.
Use a dedicated Carer’s Leave category for planned care tasks (a day-one right of up to one week per year, which can be taken in half-day increments) and maintain a separate route for time off for dependants.
Make it easy to find Acas guidance inside the policy, so that managers are aware of the boundaries and employees know what to expect.
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Top-up the statutory floor (where budgets allow)
Unpaid leave is hard to use if money is tight. If possible, offer a modest paid allocation (e.g., a few days a year) or a small hardship fund for caregivers.
We’ve seen evidence from Carers UK that over half (56%) of working carers say they cannot afford to take their statutory carer’s leave because it is unpaid. Topping up even a little can reduce presenteeism.
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Flexible patterns that don’t kill coverage
Again, if possible, offer compression, split shifts or planned remote blocks tied to outputs rather than rigid hours.
Route changes through the statutory flexible-working process (now a day-one right to request) and document decisions in line with the ACAS Code.
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A simple ‘Carer’s Passport’
Capture (on one page or in one file) exactly what the colleague is comfortable sharing about their caring role, the agreed adjustments, emergency contacts, and review dates.
To avoid repeated conversations, restrict access to relevant managers and HR staff, and avoid storing unnecessary medical details. Approvers will see the context without exposing private medical details.
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Appointment-friendly rotas
Hold back a couple of short-notice swap slots each week and make them visible. When a carer books a clinic or hospital visit, your rota tool can prompt the owner to release a swap slot or re-balance the shift to preserve minimum cover.
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Signposting that actually helps
Keeping links to important sources accessible (e.g., ACAS on carers’ leave and flexible working, GOV.UK on time off for dependants, and Carers UK’s practical advice on rights and financial support) ensures that carers have trusted guidance when they need it most.
A Humane, Low-Cost Retention Strategy
Most carers aren’t looking for special treatment. They want clarity, flexibility, and, most importantly, respect. Capturing their needs up front with a workforce management system means preventing small issues from escalating into avoidable resignations.
