The importance and recognition of the role of carers has been acknowledged and advanced through a range of legislation over the last few decades.
One of the most important principles of new and relevant social care legislation is that the assessment and support provided should be person centred. This means that service providers must consult carers in the planning and should focus on the things the person wants (outcomes).
The Care Act 2014 replaced most previous law (including the Carers Equal Opportunities Act 2004) regarding carers and people being cared for. The Act significantly reforms the way social care needs are assessed, met and paid for, and how social services are provided. In terms of carers it helps to improve people’s independence and wellbeing and outlines the way that local authorities should carry out Carers’ Assessments to consider whether or not a carer wants to take part in work, education, training or leisure activities. The local authority must inform carers of their right to have an assessment. The Care Act 2014 also makes many changes which may affect the cared-for and applies to England only.
The Children and Families Act 2014 gives all employees with at least 26 weeks’ continuous employment the right to request flexible working. The rights of parent carers have also been addressed within the Act. The local authority have a duty to provide an assessment to a carer of a disabled child aged under 18 if it appears that the parent carer has needs, or the parent carer requests an assessment.
The Employment Relations Act 1999 gives employees the right to take ‘reasonable’ time off to deal with unexpected situations involving a dependant.
The Equality Act 2010 brings together anti-discrimination law acts and regulations and states that employers and employees have a responsibility to create and be part of a fair work environment which complies with the law. The Equality Act 2010 also introduced the concept of discrimination by association into UK legislation.
