Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether his Department offers (a) paid time off work and (b) other support to employees who become kinship carers.

Employees can apply for five days paid special leave as a friends and family carer, this can be increased to ten days in a 12-month period.

Employees also have the statutory right to take up to a week’s unpaid leave in any 12-month period, to provide or arrange care for a dependant with a long-term care need.

DBT has an Employee Assistance Programme which provides impartial and confidential advice, counselling and online resources for all employees. The department also has a Carer’s group which is a support network for carers working at DBT