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Posted: Tue 16th Jun 2026
8 min read
A government consultation announced last week, during National Carers Week, could reshape how workplaces support unpaid carers.
If you employ people or run a business while caring for someone, this is your opportunity to make sure the rules actually work.
Around three million people in the UK are trying to balance work with caring for someone – a partner, parent, child, or other family member. Every day, 600 of them leave their jobs because their employer simply can't be flexible enough. Many are experienced, skilled people that businesses can't afford to lose.
For Enterprise Nation adviser Adrian Ashton, a self-employed consultant who cares for his wife and two adult children while , the conversation around caring and work has been missing a crucial perspective.
He says:
"Employment law doesn't really recognise that at some point, pretty much everyone will either need care or will care for someone else, usually both.
"We've all been figuring this out on our own, and that's not working for anyone."
The consultation looks at whether the Carer's Leave Act 2023 – which gives employees a right to unpaid time off – is enough. The government is considering:
Making carer's leave paid rather than unpaid
Creating a "right to return" to work after intensive caring periods
Introducing "Hugh's Law" to support parents when a child is diagnosed with a serious illness
Better guidance so both workers and employers understand the protections that already exist
If you employ people, new requirements could be heading your way. And if you're self-employed and caring for someone, you're currently falling through a gap in the support system.
Adrian spent seven years redesigning his business model around his caring responsibilities. Through his work and conversations with other business owners in similar situations, he's identified some straightforward changes that could make a real difference – without creating impossible burdens for small firms.
Make it easier for employers to manage the costs
"If carer's leave became partly paid, there could be a reimbursement scheme similar to maternity pay," Adrian suggests. "Businesses wouldn't carry the entire cost alone, which makes it more manageable for smaller employers."
Extend the Access to Work programme support to carers
Access to Work helps people facing workplace disadvantages stay in employment. "Becoming an unpaid carer creates disadvantages through no fault of your own," Adrian points out. "Extending this existing programme wouldn't need new legislation – just a policy tweak."
Create a way for carers and employers to communicate needs
"We have fit notes from GPs that help employers understand medical situations. Something similar for caring could give both sides a better framework for conversations," he explains. "It would help break down the awkwardness and stigma."
Set up peer support for employers
Rather than expecting businesses to figure everything out alone, Adrian sees value in creating spaces where employers can share experiences. "Business in the Community (BITC) ran a programme like this, but hardly anyone knew about it. We need these networks to be more visible and accessible," he advises.
One reason this hasn't been addressed sooner is that people often don't tell their employers they're carers. Research Adrian was involved in found that employees in both public and private sectors are particularly reluctant to disclose caring responsibilities.
"I tell potential clients upfront that I'm an unpaid carer, how it might affect my work, and how I manage it," he says. "Some clients have said that it helped them finally feel able to talk to their own employees about it. They wanted to be supportive but didn't know how to start the conversation."
About a million self-employed people are also unpaid carers, but current support systems don't recognise them.
"I'm officially recognised as a carer in my annual assessment," Adrian explains. "But when I ask about support for running my business, they say that's not what they do. Except my business and my caring are completely intertwined – I can't separate them.
"I've had to turn down projects I'd love to do because the timing doesn't work with caring commitments. I've redesigned everything around what's possible, but that means my business runs at about 80% of what it could be without the caring responsibilities."
Research suggests this constraint costs the economy around £47 billion a year in lost GDP. "That's a lot of economic productivity we're leaving on the table," Adrian notes.
What Adrian finds encouraging about the consultation is simply that it's happening:
"We've seen this pattern before with mental health, with neurodiversity, with other disability issues. Once there's space to talk about something, the culture starts to shift, and then the practical support can follow."
He sees parallels with how workplace conversations around mental health have evolved.
"Ten years ago, saying you were struggling mentally at work was career suicide in many places. Now it's something we can actually discuss. Not perfectly, but better. That's what needs to happen with caring," he says.
The practical reality is that two-thirds of HR departments have never had training on inclusion issues, according to research Adrian has worked on.
"It's not that they don't want to help – they often just don't know how. This consultation gives everyone permission to start learning together," he says.
"If you employ people or you're running a business while caring for someone, respond to this consultation. The more of us who contribute, the better chance we have of getting rules that actually work in practice, not just on paper," he advises.
He's realistic about what one consultation can achieve. "This won't fix everything immediately. But it's a start. And once we can talk about caring at work without it being this massive taboo, we can start figuring out the practical stuff together," he continues.
The consultation on employment rights for unpaid carers and parents of seriously ill children closes at 11:59 pm on 1 September 2026. You can respond here.
