Eight in 10 kinship carers forced out of work or to reduce hours due to lack of support
Majority of kinship carers are offered no support from employers when they take on the care of a child, according to new research
Eight in 10 kinship carers (86%) are either forced out of the workforce or to reduce their hours when they take on the care of a child, plunging kinship families into poverty and leading to significant additional costs to the state, according to new research published by leading kinship care charity, Kinship.
In response, Kinship is urging the UK Government to commit to statutory paid leave for kinship carers on a par with adoptive parents, in its National Kinship Care Strategy promised by the end of 2023. The charity is also calling on employers to deliver kinship friendly employment policies which support employees who are caring for the child of a relative or friend.
The new figures show that kinship carers, such as grandparents, aunts, uncles and older siblings who step up to raise the child of a relative or friend when their parents are unable to care for them, are pushed out of the labour market by a lack of employment support and access to suitable workplace entitlements, such as paid leave or flexible hours. There are more than 162,000 children being raised in kinship care in England and Wales.
Kinship is working with pioneering employers to develop a Kinship Friendly Employers initiative to encourage and support organisations to introduce policies that support, understand and respect their kinship carer employees.
A survey of more than 500 kinship carers in England and Wales found that:
- 86% were either forced out of the workforce (41%) or forced to reduce their hours (45%), when they took on the care of a child
- 68% said their employers did not offer any support to kinship carers, such as paid leave or flexible working hours, when they took on the care of a child
- 28% were forced into claiming benefits when they took on the care of a child
- More than one-third saw their incomes slashed by over 50% when they stepped up to care for a child who needed a loving home
Kinship’s report “Forced out: delivering equality for kinship carers in the workplace” also highlights that 16% of kinship carers were told to stop working by their local authority when they took on the care of a child, and 13% were told to reduce their hours, despite most kinship carers receiving little or no financial support to help them with the costs of raising a child.
Kinship carers are overrepresented in the healthcare, social care and education sectors, which means the high ‘dropout rate’ of kinship carers from the workforce is contributing to staffing pressures on the NHS and school system. Nurses, teachers and other critical staff are being pushed out of work and onto benefits when they become kinship carers, leading to significant additional costs for the state.
Kinship carers are also disproportionately women, and the research shows becoming a kinship carer is likely to exacerbate existing challenges women face in the workforce, including lifetime financial losses associated with the gender pay gap and previous time spent outside of the labour market raising their own children.
Kinship’s CEO, Dr Lucy Peake said: “These findings show the sharp contrast between workplace support given to adopters and parents, and that which is available to kinship carers.
“Time and time again, kinship carers tell us that they have been pushed out of jobs and plunged into poverty, because they stepped up to care for a child who was in need of a stable home.
“The Government needs to introduce a legal requirement for all kinship carers to have the same access to paid leave and other workplace entitlements as parents and adopters. This would alleviate some of the extreme financial hardship kinship families are facing, helping to keep vulnerable children within loving homes and out of the care system. It would also give these children, who have experienced trauma and loss, time to settle into their new homes.
“We are also encouraging employers to consider the needs of kinship carers alongside others who have parental responsibilities, in their family friendly policies. We are developing a ‘Kinship Friendly Employers’ initiative to encourage and support organisations across England and Wales to start making these changes and I’m delighted at the positive response we’ve already had from a number of pioneering employers.”
Leading specialist card and gift retailer cardfactory recently introduced paid leave for kinship carers. Jen Lawrence, Executive Director for People and Transformation at cardfactory said: “We recently introduced kinship leave to complement and enhance our approach to family friendly policies, recognising the diverse needs of our colleagues. The introduction of kinship leave for all colleagues across our business is an example of how we are working to ensure our colleague offer is inclusive and enables work life balance for all.”
Kinship carer Julia, 68, from Littlehampton cares for her three granddaughters, alongside her husband. Julia said: “I really enjoyed my job as a manager for a NHS medical practice and didn’t want to give it up.
“If I’d had the chance to have paid leave and have the time to be with the children when they first arrived, then it would have been better for all of us, and I could have gone back to work. Instead, our income plummeted after that, as I was forced to go on benefits. Our lives would have been much better as we would have had a bigger income.”
Kinship carer Natalie, 33, from Bradford took on the care of her nephew when he was 10 weeks old. Natalie said: “It was an emergency situation when I took care of my nephew. I had been working as a teaching assistant and was looking forward to going back to work in September, as I’d been offered a two year contract. I explained to the school about my nephew and, although they were very empathetic, they were unable to offer me any paid leave. Social services said I had to manage contact with my nephew and his parent four times a week. Without paid leave, I was forced to quit my job and go on benefits. It was an absolute nightmare. Paid parental leave would have made a massive difference to us all because I could have gone back to work after things had settled down. (…) My nephew and I would have had time to bond and get to know each other without having to worry about money.
“When I had maternity leave with my children, I had the chance to come up for air and relax during that time with them. But with my nephew, I went from being an independent woman in work, to being on benefits and using my savings and having sleepless nights.”
Leading kinship care charity, Kinship, supports more than 10,000 kinship carers in England and Wales each year through free training sessions, one-to-one support, peer support groups, an expert advice line and their online information and support hub. For more information or support, visit kinship.org.uk
ENDS
Editor’s Notes
PRESS RELEASE: UNDER STRICT EMBARGO UNTIL Thursday 15 June 2023
Contact: media@kinship.org.uk / 07984 600234
Recommendations from the report:
Based on the new report “Forced out: delivering equality for kinship carers in the workplace” (June 2023), leading kinship care charity, Kinship, is making the following recommendations:
- The Government should introduce a right to paid kinship care leave for all kinship carers
- The Government should ensure that its planned Pathfinder and pilot activity includes elements of employment support for kinship families
- The Government should introduce a mandatory financial allowance for kinship carers
- Local authorities should provide better employment advice and support to kinship families
- Employers should introduce kinship friendly employment policies and seek to improve their understanding of kinship care.
Statement from Dame Rachel de Souza, Children’s Commissioner for England:
“Last year, I carried out my independent Family Review, to explore what modern family life looks like today. One of the things I heard from the children, kinship carers and charities that I spoke to as part of my review, was the crucial role that carers play in children’s’ lives. I heard how kinship carers often step in at times of crisis to care for children in their wider family network and provide children with the love and stability they need to thrive.
“That’s why it is so important we create an environment in which kinship carers are given the recognition and support that they need. I have already called for greater practical and financial support for these carers, and as Children’s Commissioner, I will be developing my own policy to support kinship carers in my office, with the aim of becoming a kinship friendly employer.”
Further case studies from the report:
Kinship carer Rachel, 56, lives in South London. In 2017, she took in her baby nephew when his parents were no longer able to care for him. Rachel said: “My HR department said as it wasn’t adoption or maternity leave, they had nothing in their policies to support me and that they couldn’t set a precedent. I only had 3 weeks to get things ready before my nephew arrived but as I was working full-time, I had no real time to prepare. Around the same time, I had two colleagues who were becoming parents, one received full maternity leave entitlement and the other received adoption leave. I felt I was being treated completely differently. I felt judged and looked down on.
“My nephew wasn’t allowed to have time with me to settle in, even though I was his fifth placement. I had just six weeks of to bond with him, but I was busy looking for nurseries and child minders at a time which should have been about his emotional needs. It was horrible and stressful.
“That lack of time together had an impact on my nephew and he has attachment issues now which he’s having therapy for. I wished I could have stayed at home with him in the first important months. I believe he would have been more secure. During that short time off, my line manager contacted me, tried to get me back to work early and wouldn’t let me take any more unpaid leave.”
Kinship carer Stacy, 33, lives in Durham. Stacy said: “At the time I was single, working and had never planned to have children. I wanted to be a fun auntie, but that went out the window as I wanted my niece to remain in the family where she was loved, otherwise she would be placed in the care system, and no-one wanted that.
“I took her home from hospital as a new-born baby in just the clothes she was in. I had no time to prepare to look after her as it all happened so suddenly.
“Fortunately, even though my employer had no formal kinship leave process, I felt really supported by my them and especially my line manager who went above and beyond to help me when I became a kinship carer.
“They enabled me to work flexibly and from home on reduced duties, so I could deal with having a new-born baby. Essentially it was hybrid working before hybrid working was a thing and that made a huge difference and enabled me to keep my career and care for my baby niece.”
Kinship
Leading kinship care charity, Kinship, supports more than 10,000 kinship carers in England and Wales each year through free training sessions, one-to-one support, peer support groups, an expert advice line and their online information and support hub. For more information or support, visit kinship.org.uk
We’re here for all kinship carers. The family members and friends who step up to raise children when their parents aren’t able to. We want every kinship family to have the recognition, value and support they need and deserve.
We offer kinship carers financial, legal, practical and emotional support and understanding from the moment they need it, for as long as they need it. Our expert advice, information and guidance helps with complicated and stressful decisions that so many kinship families have to make. We’re always there to support them through difficult times and celebrate the good. Kinship carers are strong and determined. Together, they are powerful.
We help them build communities of support and action by connecting families locally and across England and Wales. We’re at the heart of kinship networks, partnering with and influencing service providers, local and national government and other organisations. We give everything we have to fight for each family and their rights, changing society until every kinship family is recognised, valued and supported.
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