The number of people juggling their careers with caring for a friend or loved one has rocketed in recent years.

According to the charity Carers UK, there are now more than five million people torn between work and care duties, compared to three million back in 2011.

This can be an incredibly difficult thing to do, from both a financial and emotional perspective.

So what are you entitled to when it comes to taking time off in order to look after a loved one?

Dealing with an emergency

Unfortunately, when it comes to the law, things are a little vague.

You are entitled to a ‘reasonable’ period off work to care for someone in an emergency, but there is little set in stone when it comes to classifying what is a ‘reasonable’ period of time.

Importantly, this needs to be a situation that was unexpected and you aren’t entitled to be paid for this time off, though some employers will still do so.

Flexible working

It’s one thing to get some time off work to deal with an emergency, but if you have ongoing responsibilities as a carer for a loved one, that won’t be much help.

Carers UK suggest talking to your employer to see if you can switch to a more flexible working set up, which could mean some time working from home, working staggered hours, or even moving to a job share.

So long as you have worked for the same employer for 26 weeks you are entitled to request flexible working. You will need to put the request in writing, explaining how you want the flexible structure to work.

Bosses must have proper reasons for rejecting any requests.

How employers handle care

Employers have very different approaches to when staff need to take on a caring role. Centrica, the parent company of British Gas, has introduced 10 days of paid leave to all staff who are carers, outside of their usual annual leave allowance.

It has also written to the bosses of the UK’s other 100 largest employers to call on them to do more to support staff in this position, arguing that not only is it the right thing to do, it would also save these businesses billions in unplanned absences as well as retaining talented staff who may otherwise feel they needed to leave their posts.

Unfortunately, many other bosses do not display quite such an understanding when it comes to care.

While some will allow staff to take time off on a compassionate basis, and pay them for it, this is by no means a requirement.

According to Carers UK, around 2.6 million people have had to give up work because of their care duties.

It really all comes down to your own individual employer. If you are going to need to take a longer period off work because of your care responsibilities, it’s really important that you check your contract to see what you are entitled to, as well as discuss your situation with the HR department.

If you are struggling to get the balance right, then it may be worth considering a sabbatical, which while unpaid will mean that you can return to your job once those duties come to an end.

What financial support is available?

One form of benefit that may be available if you take on a caring role is the Carer’s Allowance.

You may be able to claim if any of the following apply:

• You spend at least 35 hours a week caring for a disabled person

• You care for someone who gets the higher-rate or mid-rate care component of Disability Living Allowance, any form of the Personal Independence Payment, or any rate of Attendance Allowance

• You do not earn more than £123 a week (after deductions)

• You are not in full-time education

The allowance is currently worth £66.15 per week and is paid every four weeks. You don’t have to live with, or even be related to the person you’re caring for, and you’ll receive National Insurance credits too.

If you’re already receiving Universal Credit, then your payments may be topped up through the ‘carer element’, without you needing to apply for Carer’s Allowance.

Can I get help from my local council?

It’s a really good idea to contact your local council to see if you can get further support when caring for a loved one.

They should send out a member of their social services department to conduct a carer’s assessment, which will look at what can be provided which might make your life easier.

This can cover all sorts of different areas, from help with taxi fares if you don’t drive to assistance with housework and even training on how to lift correctly so that you don’t injure yourself.

The assessor may decide that you are entitled to a ‘personal budget’, which is essentially a pot of cash that the council reckons will cover the cost of the various bits of help and assistance that they have decided you need.

These assessments are absolutely free, usually take place face-to-face and tend to last for an hour.

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