Carers Policy

Contents

1. Introduction
2. Who is this policy guidance applicable to?
3. Who is a carer and what do their circumstances and needs look like?
4. What are my responsibilities as an employee and a Line Manager?
5. What support is available to me for taking time off work to manage my caring responsibilities?
6. What support is available for managing unplanned / emergency situations arising from my caring responsibilities?
7. What other support is available for carers?
8. Where can I access further advice?
9. Code of Ethics

 

1. Introduction

1.1 Here at Humberside we recognise that some employees have caring responsibilities outside of the workplace and may need our support to combine work with care. We have adopted this policy to demonstrate our commitment to supporting employees who are carers, and to set out what support is available.

2. Who is this policy guidance applicable to?

2.1 This guidance applies to all Police Officers and Police Staff who have caring responsibilities.

3. Who is a carer and what do their circumstances and needs look like?

3.1 When defining carers, we aim to strike a balance between recognising the special circumstances of caring, and not classifying carers as a rigid or separate group.

3.2 We define carers as employees with significant caring responsibilities, outside of the norm, that have a substantial impact on their life, both at work and at home.

3.3 The person they care for:

• is closely associated with the carer, such as a family member, a member of the same household, or someone who reasonably relies on the carer for care; and
• has either:
  • a physical or mental illness or injury that means they’re expected to need care for more than 3 months,
  • a disability (as defined in the Equality Act 2010),
  • care needs because of their old age.

3.4 The activities that carers undertake are wide ranging, including:

• help with personal care;
• help with mobility;
• managing medication;
• practical household tasks;
• medical emergencies;
• advocacy;
• ongoing appointments;
• emotional support; and
• help with financial matters or administration.

3.5 Carers' needs are different from the needs of employees with routine childcare responsibilities; the circumstances and milestones of caring are different from those of routine childcare.

3.6 Caring can be unpredictable and emotionally upsetting. An employee may acquire caring responsibilities overnight, for example where their child is born with disabilities, or their parent has a medical episode. Alternatively, they may develop over time, such as where the employee's child or partner has a debilitating long-term health condition. With routine childcare, the child's journey is more predictable as they grow older, go to school, and become independent of the parent. The milestones of caring may go in the opposite direction, for example an elderly parent may become frailer and more dependent over time and a disabled or ill child may require significant support and care needs into adulthood and for the rest of their life.

3.7 Employees with caring commitments may need time off work to meet their caring responsibilities, in addition to the time off permitted under the statutory right to take time off for dependants. For example, for attendance at a medical appointment with a dependant, or for managing a dependant's discharge from hospital.

4. What are my responsibilities as an employee or Line Manager?

4.1 Employees are not required to disclose to their Line Manager if they have caring responsibilities but are encouraged to do so in order to help ensure appropriate support can be provided. Line managers will respect the confidentiality of any information provided to them in this regard.

4.2 Employees should discuss with their Line Manager any known needs for time away from work relating to their caring commitments. This will help line managers and the other members of the team to plan work and other leave arrangements.

4.3 Where a manager knows that an employee in their team has caring responsibilities, the manager should inform the employee about the support options offered by the Force and encourage them to access and utilise the support available. Details of support options available are referenced within the following points 5, 6 and 7 below.

5. What support is available to me for taking time off work to manage my caring responsibilities? 

5.1 Carer’s Leave

5.1.1 Employees with caring responsibilities, who are not paid for the care they provide, are entitled to take up to 1 week of unpaid Carer’s Leave per rolling 12-month period (37 hours for staff, 40 hours for officers). This leave entitlement is pro-rata for those contracted to part-time hours and is subject to meeting the following criteria:

i. The person being cared for needs to be closely associated with the carer, such as a family member, a member of the same household, or someone who reasonably relies on the carer for care; and

ii. The person receiving the care must have:

• a physical or mental illness or injury that means they’re expected to need care for more than 3 months,
• a disability (as defined in the Equality Act 2010),
• care needs because of their old age.

5.1.2 This additional leave entitlement has been introduced to help support carers to manage the balance between work and care and can be taken flexibly, in full or half days, to suit individual caring needs.

5.1.3 It can be advisable to use Carer’s Leave at times when a full or half day off work is required, as we may be able to support providing time off for shorter periods in other ways, such as flexibility in shift start and finish times, flexitime or Time Off In Lieu, for example.

5.1.4 Carer’s Leave can be taken for any purpose relating to providing care or making arrangements for the provision of care. It does not need to be for a specific event such as a medical appointment.

5.1.5 Whilst Carer’s Leave is unpaid, all other benefits will remain in place. The following will apply in the case of Carer’s Leave:

• The period of absence will still qualify as reckonable service and future increments will not be impacted.
• Allowances based on actual hours worked (e.g. overtime, unsocial hours, etc) will not be paid.
• Where individuals qualify for shift allowance and/or weekend working allowance, these will be adjusted according to the proportion of working time taken as leave due forming part of basic pay. For example, where 1 day of Carer’s Leave is taken within a 31 day month, 1/31^st of monthly salary will be deducted (which includes weekend working and shift allowances).
• Pension contributions will reduce due to the unpaid leave period. However, any contributions lost may be bought back (please contact the Payroll Team to arrange this).
• Annual and bank holiday leave will continue to accrue during the period of unpaid leave.

5.1.6 There is no requirement to provide evidence of the reason for the leave when submitting a request for the time off. However, it is expected that line managers would have prior awareness of their direct reports who have caring responsibilities and therefore may require to utilise Carer’s Leave.

5.1.7 Line Manager authorisation is required for Carer’s Leave to be taken. This is to notify of the dates and times the individual will be away from the workplace and to ensure satisfactory resourcing levels can be maintained during the leave period.

5.1.8 Requests for Carer’s Leave should be submitted on a Carer’s Leave Application Form. The application form, complete with Line Manager authorisation, should then be sent to People Services for processing.

5.1.9 Carer’s Leave will be recorded as ‘Unpaid Leave’ in DMS.

5.1.10 Carer’s Leave requests cannot be declined but may be postponed where the individual’s absence would be unjustifiably disruptive to business operations. Where Carer’s Leave requests need to be postponed:

• an alternative date must be mutually agreed which is within one month of the requested leave date; and
• a clear rationale for the postponement must be provided in writing to the individual. This must be provided within 7 calendar days of receiving the original request, and prior to the start date of the leave.* 

*Please Note:

• Where an individual is called for court at short notice, postponement of Carer’s Leave outside of the 7-day notification period may be necessary and unavoidable.
• Recall to duty during an agreed period of Carer’s Leave must be avoided and may only occur in circumstances of extreme operational need/importance. 

5.1.11 Where requests are postponed, appeals may be made to a Superintendent / equivalent member of SLT authority for consideration. 

5.2 Other support for time off

5.2.1 We offer a variety of support options, accommodating for both short and long-term periods. Support requests will be considered on an individual basis. Whilst it is recognised that not all roles within the Force will be able to accommodate all the support options listed below, full consideration and efforts to facilitate these options should be made in respect of employees in both operational and non-operational roles.  Line Managers are responsible for approving support requests however there may be times when additional authorisation from SLT is required. 

5.3 Other Short-term options for time off

1. Time Off for Dependents – Time Off for Dependants leave is designed to give carers paid leave to deal with an urgent or sudden domestic crisis that may have arisen. This is normally defined as a situation that occurs suddenly or unexpectedly and cannot be planned for.
2. Homeworking: Employees may request to work wholly or partly from home during the requested support period.
3. Shift-swapping: Employees may agree to rearrange shifts among themselves by swapping shifts with colleagues who perform the same type of work at different times of the day. Line Manager agreement must be sought when arranging a shift swap.
4. Staggered hours: We can offer staggered hours where employees adjust starting and finishing times temporarily during the requested time in need.
5. Flexitime: We can offer a flexible working hours scheme. Individuals must work certain core hours, but outside these hours they have some flexibility over the hours that they work. For example, you may be able to work extra hours and use these to take time off work. (This policy is officially Police staff only; however it can be applied temporally to Officers with SLTs discretion during the support period)
6. Compressed hours: Employees may request to work full-time hours over fewer working days during the temporary supported period.
7. Annual Leave/RDILs/TOIL or unpaid leave: Individuals can request to use other methods of leave during their requested support period. 

5.4 Longer term options

1. Flexible working: Employees have a right to request flexible working. For further information on flexible working requests, please refer to our Flexible Working Policy.
2. Part-time working: Employees may request to perform their role on a part-time basis, by working shorter days or fewer days per week.
3. Staggered hours: We can offer staggered hours where employees have different / adjusted start and finish times.
4. Term-time working (Police Staff only): Employees may request to work on a term-time basis by taking unpaid leave during school holidays.
5. Compressed hours: Employees may request to work full-time hours over fewer working days.
6. Change of role and / or work location: Employees may request to move to an alternate role or request to work to from a different work location if this would be beneficial to supporting them with their caring responsibilities.

6. What support is available for managing unplanned / emergency situations arising from my caring responsibilities?

6.1 The Force recognises that employees with caring responsibilities cannot always plan ahead for required time off. The ability to take leave in an emergency is important for carers, who may be called on at short notice.

6.2 Time Off for Dependants leave is designed to provide carers with paid leave in order to deal with urgent or sudden domestic crises that arise. This is normally defined as a situation that occurs presently and cannot be planned for.

6.3 This leave is intended to allow the employee to deal with the emergency. There is no fixed amount of time for Time Off for Dependants leave, however in most circumstances 1 or 2 days would be reasonable and each case must be considered depending on the facts of the situation.

6.4 Line Managers can authorise up to 2 days paid Time Off for Dependents leave per instance. If more time is required, consideration may be given by the Superintendent/ equivalent member of SLT for further paid time off. Consideration will be given as to what is reasonable in each case. It is important to note that decisions made will not set precedents for future decisions.

6.5 Where the event/situation is planned and can be foreseen, it is reasonable to expect the employee to explore other support options available, as mentioned above in Section 5.

7. What other support is available for carers?

7.1 Employees with caring responsibilities, together with their Line Manager, should also consider if the following adjustments and support mechanisms could be of assistance:

• The ability to make or receive calls in connection with their caring responsibilities and access to a private space to do this.
• Establishing a Carer Passport – the Carer Passport scheme allows individuals to set up a Carer Passport document to outline what balancing caring responsibilities and work looks like for them and what support the Force may be able to provide to help with navigating this balance. It also considers any external sources of support that may be of help. The passport is established through a conversation between individuals and their Line Manager. Once agreed and documented, the passport travels with the individual throughout their career at Humberside, therefore easing any worries and assisting conversations regarding their caring responsibilities with new managers. The passport should be reviewed on a regular basis and when key changes occur to ensure it remains relevant to the needs of both the individual and the Force. The individual has ownership of the Carer Passport and discretion regarding with whom it is shared. The Line Manager may keep a copy with the individual’s consent, but it must not be shared unless prior agreement has been sought from the individual.

• Utilising our Employee Assistance Programme, which offers information and advice on some of the practical issues that carers may face, including claiming benefits and allowances, organising respite care, fundraising and obtaining specialised equipment.

• Accessing the Force’s Carer’s Support Network which provides practical peer-to-peer support, information and links to other internal and external sources of support, including the Welfare and Benevolent Fund, Hull Parent Carer Forum and support available from East Riding Council. The network also raises awareness about caring and the support needs of carers employed within the Force. For details about the Carer’s Support Network or to contact them please use this link.
• Accessing carer support services available in your local area, such as:
• The Carers’ Support Service – A charity which provides support to carers living in the North and North East Lincolnshire Area.
• Carers’ Information and Support Service – Provide support to carers who reside in the Hull area or are registered with a Hull GP.
• Your Life, Your Way – East Riding of Yorkshire Council’s website which provides support for carers living in the East Riding area. 

8. Where can I access further advice?

8.1 After reading this policy if further advice or guidance is required, please contact People Services – Advice and Guidance.

9. Code of Ethics

9.1 The College of Policing launched the Code of Ethics and Code of Practice in January 2024, which applies to everyone in policing. The Ethical Policing Principles which form the Code of Ethics are Courage, Respect and Empathy, and Public Service. These principles aim to help people in policing do the right things, in the right way, for the right reasons. The principles should be observed and adhered to at all times and in line with this policy.