Forced out: delivering equality for kinship carers in the workplace

1 June 2023

Forced Out explores the views and experiences of kinship carers around work, and reveals the devastating consequences which a lack of employment support is having for kinship families and for the state.

It calls on the Government to commit to introducing a right to kinship care leave on a par with adoption leave for all kinship carers within its forthcoming kinship care strategy and encourages employers to adopt kinship friendly employment policies.

Download Forced Out report (PDF - 2.1 MB)

On this page

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  1. Employer and local authority support
  2. Unemployment and underemployment
  3. Consequences for kinship families
  4. Costs to the state
  5. A right to paid employment leave
  6. Recommendations
  7. Kinship Friendly Employers

Employment support for kinship carers from employers and local authorities is typically poor or non-existent.

Many kinship carers experience stigmatising attitudes and a lack of understanding about the nature of kinship care, but even where there is goodwill and efforts made by individual managers and HR teams, the lack of specific statutory entitlements for kinship carers is significantly limiting the support they can receive.

Too many kinship carers are told to give up or reduce work by the local authority and then left without sufficient financial and other support to help them cope with the resultant impact this has on their families.

  • 68% of kinship carers said their employer didn’t offer support to kinship carers

  • Only 23% of kinship carers were offered employment support by their local authority

"Children’s services gave me no choice. Unequivocally stated I was to give up work if I undertook my grandson’s care or he would go to a foster placement."

Carer with a child arrangements or residence order, aged 65-74

A middle-aged man and a small boy are sitting on a sofa. The man is helping the boy with some homework.

The result is significant and often permanent unemployment and underemployment for kinship carers.

Poor employment support is driving kinship carers out of the labour market permanently and a lack of suitably flexible working options is preventing many from continuing in and returning to work as they would like to.

As kinship carers are disproportionately women, this is likely to be exacerbating existing gendered dynamics and inequalities in terms of employment and earnings.

  • More than 4 in 10 kinship carers told us they had to leave work permanently after they became a kinship carer

  • 45% of kinship carers were forced to reduce their working hours after taking on the care of a child

"Due to kinship carers not having the same rights as adoptive parents, legally I wasn’t entitled to paid leave, maternity or adoptive leave which is what led me to leave my job."

Special guardian, aged 45-54

A woman and little girl, both wearing headscarves, look at a laptop. They are both smiling.

This loss of employment is leading to devastating consequences for kinship families.

The result of forced withdrawal from employment is often significant financial hardship and poverty for kinship families. Kinship carers told us that losing their jobs often led to poor health and wellbeing, a loss of identity and relationships, and reduced stability for their children.

  • More than 1/3 of kinship carers experienced an income drop of more than 50% after stepping up to take on the care of a child

"We cannot pay off our mortgage, have used up all our savings and taken all our pension draw downs. We have a few thousand pounds left, then have no idea what we are all going to live off. We are exhausted and very worried about the future."

Special guardian, aged 45-54

Woman sitting on the sofa with a baby on her lap and another small child next to her. They are all looking at a tablet computer.

It also comes at significant cost to the state.

Kinship carers are forced into the benefits system, creating significant and long-term impacts for the public purse. The lack of employment support for kinship carers and their subsequent withdrawal from the labour market is likely to be exacerbating significant workforce crises within our hospitals, schools and communities.

  • 28% of kinship carers had to claim benefits after taking on the care of a child due to a change in their employment status

"I hadn’t long qualified as a nurse, and needed more experience, so feel my confidence was massively impacted by the lack of support. I now don’t feel able to return to this line of work and felt very let down that the NHS didn’t support me."

Special guardian, aged 55-64

An older woman reads from a yellow book, with a young boy on either side of her.

Kinship carers want to see a right to paid leave and greater access to flexible working arrangements.

Kinship carers want time to settle and bond with children who have experienced trauma, separation and loss, without the intense worry which arises from unemployment and financial insecurity. They also want to see more flexible working options which consider their caring responsibilities, and greater employer understanding about the unique nature of kinship care.

  • More than 1/2 of kinship carers said a right to paid leave would have prevented them from leaving work or changing their employment status

"A year of paid leave would have given me chance to settle and bond with a traumatised child and to work out how to continue in work. I just had no time for anything."

Kinship foster carer, aged 25-34

An adult, a teenager and a young boy sitting on a sofa, smiling.

Recommendations

For more detail on each of our recommendations, please see the full report.

  1. The Government should introduce a right to paid kinship care leave for all kinship carers.
  2. The Government should ensure that its planned Pathfinder and pilot activity includes elements of employment support for kinship families.
  3. The Government should introduce a mandatory financial allowance for kinship carers.
  4. Local authorities should provide better employment advice and support to kinship families.
  5. Employers should introduce kinship friendly employment policies and seek to improve their understanding of kinship care.
Download Forced Out report (PDF - 2.1 MB)

Kinship Friendly Employers

Our Kinship Friendly Employers scheme encourages and supports organisations across England and Wales to ensure their kinship carer employees can access fair, flexible and funded support.

Become a Kinship Friendly Employer

Kinship Care Leave policy

Many of Kinship’s current staff team are either kinship carers themselves or grew up in kinship care. Learn more about our Kinship Care Leave policy on our staff benefits page, under family-friendly policies.

Benefits of working for Kinship