There may be times when you have a break from caring. You may go on holiday or the person you are looking after may need to spend some time in hospital. When this happens there are special rules to decide whether you will continue to be paid Carer's Allowance or whether the payment will be suspended.

The rules are quite complicated so you may want to get some specialist advice from one of the organisations in the Useful contacts section. However, the basic rules are as follows:

• You are allowed four weeks off from caring in any 26-week period without your Carer's Allowance being affected.
• If the person you are caring for goes into hospital, you may be able to continue to receive Carer's Allowance for up to 12 weeks out of a 26-week period; but this will depend on whether you have had a break prior to this in last 26 weeks.
• If you go into hospital, your Carer's Allowance will stop after 12 weeks; this may be sooner if you have been in hospital or had a break within the last 26 weeks.
• If the person you care for has to go into respite care, your Carer's Allowance will stop after four weeks, unless the person you care for can arrange a pattern of care which allows then to keep their Attendance Allowance or Disability Living Allowance. In which case, you would be able to continue to receive your Carer's Allowance.
• If the person you care for loses their disability benefit, your Carer's Allowance will stop.
• If you take off more than four weeks and the person you are caring for is not in hospital, your Carer's Allowance will be stopped.
• If your Carer's Allowance is stopped you will need to re-apply for it as soon as you start caring again.

For more information on what happens to benefits when someone goes into hospital, see the information sheet 'Going into hospital'.  

When you have a break from caring you must always inform the Carer's Allowance Unit where you made your claim (or the Disability and Carer's Service in Northern Ireland) - see the information in How to claim Carer's Allowance. They will add up the amount of time you have off in each six-month period from the date your Carer's Allowance starts.

If you find that you are taking quite a bit of time off from caring, keep a diary to track the breaks you have. This will help you to plan the maximum amount of time off without losing your benefit.

If the person you care for dies

If the person you care for dies, you can continue to get Carer's Allowance for up to eight weeks after their death; the eight weeks begin on the Sunday after their death. To carry on getting the payment in the eight-week period you have to continue to meet the normal rules for getting Carer's Allowance apart from the need to care.

Earnings over £95 and other benefits will continue to affect the payment of Carer's Allowance. You may also be affected by the 'overlapping benefits rule': for example, if the person you cared for is your husband or wife and you receive a Bereavement Benefit after their death, you will not be able to get Carer's Allowance as well (see Carer's Allowance and other benefits).