Hertfordshire County Council to offer five days paid carer’s leave from April

Hertfordshire County Council is to offer employees paid ‘carer’s leave’.

New legislation – due to come into force in April – will give all unpaid carers the right to take up to five days of unpaid leave a year.

But, at a meeting of the employment committee on Friday (February 9), councillors decided that carers on the payroll of the county council should be paid, should they need to take the leave.

Data reported to the committee suggested that 8.3 per cent of the council’s workforce – that’s around 700 employees – are carers.

And it was reported that, if all of those carers were to take a full week of ‘carer’s leave’ in a year, the cost in ‘days lost’ would be around £400,000.

That would not mean a £400,000 increase in spending because the absences would not be immediately covered – in the same way that additional staff are not drafted in as holiday cover.

And it was stressed that having the option to take the leave would not mean that all eligible staff would take it up – with councillors advised to take the figure ‘with some caution’.

The decision to offer paid leave was given unanimous backing by the five-strong committee, which includes Conservative, Liberal Democrat and Labour councillors.

Conservative deputy council leader and executive member for children , young people and families, Cllr Fiona Thomson, said it was a positive step – that could actually prevent costs.

“As a former carer for a family member I absolutely can understand it can be such a challenge.

“And if you are trying to juggle work and a caring responsibility, children, other commitments, there is a danger that actually you end up going off sick.

“There has been reference made to the potential cost if everybody was inclined to take their five days per annum if needed.

“But actually I would argue perhaps that the cost of somebody going off long-term sick because of the stress of caring for a family member may well outweigh that.

“So I think this is a very positive step and shows that we value carers.”

Labour group leader Cllr Nigel Bell said he thoroughly supported the decision to offer paid carer’s leave.

“I think it is important that we are seen in our county to do the right thing for our staff,” he said.

“And unlike some other councils I think we are being seen here to do the right thing and set the example.”

And it was also backed by leader of the Liberal Democrat group Cllr Steve Jarvis, who said it was the right thing to do.

“This is clearly the right thing to do,” he said.

“It’s the right thing to do for the individual employees its also the right thing to do for the council.”

He pointed to the importance of making sure people understand the importance of carers and the way we value them. He also suggested it may be helpful in terms of recruitment and retention.

The county council’s employment committee met on Friday (9 February).