Our new report – 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.
Tell the Government to #ValueOurLove and introduce paid leave for kinship carers.
Kinship carers are being forced out of work by a system that doesn’t value their love. Help us by sending a quick email to Kevin Hollinrake MP at the Department for Business and Trade today and ask him to commit to paid leave for kinship carers in the Kinship Care Strategy.
Key findings
1
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%
said their employer didn’t offer support to kinship carers.
23%
were offered help 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
2
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.
45%
of kinship carers were forced to reduce their working hours.
“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
3
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 one-third
experienced an income drop of more than 50%.
“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
4
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%
had to claim benefits due to changes in their employment status.
Overrepresented
in healthcare, education and social care jobs.
“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
5
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 half
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
Recommendations
For more detail on each of our recommendations, please see the full report.
-
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.
Kinship Friendly Employers
Last year, Kinship began to develop a Kinship Friendly Employers scheme to encourage and support organisations across England and Wales to ensure that any kinship carer employees can access fair, flexible and funded support within a positive workplace culture which understands and respects their needs.
This was rooted in our experience as an employer; 20% of Kinship’s current staff team are either kinship carers themselves or grew up in kinship care, and our Kinship Care Leave policy supports staff members to take up to 52 weeks’ leave from work, paid at the same rate as Statutory Adoption Pay, irrespective of whether a legal order is in place.
Earlier this year, we hosted a series of roundtables with employers across a range of sectors including KPMG, John Lewis, Atkins Global, Card Factory and the Office of the Children’s Commissioner, as well as kinship carers and other experts, to explore how kinship friendly policies could operate in different workplaces.
We’re grateful to all of the organisations and individuals who have generously contributed their time and expertise to support the development of our Kinship Friendly Employers scheme which will launch later this year. We look forward to working closely alongside many other employers throughout this year and beyond as Kinship continues to lead the way in fostering positive workplace support for kinship carers.
Contact comms@kinship.org.uk if you’re an employer and want to find out more.
Tell the Government to #ValueOurLove and introduce paid leave for kinship carers.
Kinship carers are being forced out of work by a system that doesn’t value their love. Help us by sending a quick email to Kevin Hollinrake MP at the Department for Business and Trade today and ask him to commit to paid leave for kinship carers in the Kinship Care Strategy.
Want to learn more about our policy and research activity?
Discover more reports, briefings and responses, and find out about how we’re influencing national and local policy.
