4 in 10 kinship carers are plunged into benefits system after taking on the care of a child without paid parental leave

• 26% of kinship carers struggled to afford living essentials due to their new caring responsibilities, and over 28% had to borrow money 

• 45% lost their jobs when they stepped up to raise a relative or friend’s child  

• Almost 70% say a lack of paid leave resulted in increased stress, leading 10% of kinship carers to have a breakdown from the stress 

• Charity Kinship is calling for the government to recognise kinship carers’ value by giving them the same parental leave rights as other working parents including adoptive parents 

4 in 10 kinship carers (40%) are forced to claim benefits or increase their benefits according to new research* Kinship has launched, highlighting the impact of a lack of paid employment leave for family members who take on the care of a child when their parent is no longer able to.  

Every year, thousands of children suddenly enter the care of relatives (such as grandparents, aunts, uncles and older siblings) and close family friends when they are no longer able to live with their parents. In England and Wales, 141,000 children are being raised by kinship carers, who in the majority of cases are keeping children out of the care system and within their loving families, saving the state billions.  

Kinship carers receive far less support than parents and other carers. Unlike working parents, including adoptive parents, they have no right to paid employment leave when they take on the care of a child, often forcing them to quit work and face financial insecurity at the same time as they are taking on the unexpected costs of raising a child or multiple children. 

The new research of 1,245 kinship carers found that as a result of not being able to continue working as before when they took on a child, many kinship carers are being pushed below the breadline. 26% struggled to afford essentials, 28% had to borrow money and 25% say that they fell behind on paying bills. This includes those who had to stop working, reduce their hours, take unpaid leave or change jobs. 

The research also found that 69% said not having paid leave increased stress in the household. 58% said it affected their mental health or emotional wellbeing, and 10% said it led to them having a breakdown from the stress.  

A previous Kinship survey published last year, found that 45% of working kinship carers lose jobs when they take on the care of a child. Over half (51%) of those previously in work said paid leave would have helped them return to work fully (32%) or partly (19%). Only 3% could access discretionary paid leave and 8% unpaid leave. 80% of those who stopped working never returned to employment, giving up longstanding careers. 

Kinship carer Nash, an NHS midwife from Chelmsford, was forced to give up her job after taking in her sister’s three children when she died in May 2024.  

Kinship carer Nash said, “We were so close. I was always part of her life and her children’s. So, it was a no-brainer that the children, aged 15, eight and six, would come and live with me and my husband and our four children. I love my job as a midwife, but it’s been relentless. Making space for my nieces and nephew in our home, getting them into new schools and adjusting to a new way of life while grieving for my sister – it’s been a massive turmoil.  

“This Spring, I had a massive mental health meltdown due to the stress of everything. I requested adoption leave or the equivalent, but I was declined. The HR department said they didn’t have policies in place to give paid leave to kinship carers. So, I made the difficult decision to hand in my notice. Without any support offered to me, this is my only option. If I’d been offered paid leave from work, it would have given me huge peace of mind and that time to adjust to our new future.”   

The government’s parental leave and pay review is currently considering the rights of kinship carers alongside other working parents.  

On 11 February, Kinship will be launching a policy paper in Parliament on its proposals for kinship care leave. These proposals, developed closely with kinship carers and workplace leaders, will outline how existing models of pay and leave available to others with caring responsibilities could be adapted to meaningfully support kinship families whilst minimising complexity for government and employers. Kinship recommends a two-pronged approach – to help kinship carers and employers best manage the often unplanned and uncertain period at the beginning of a kinship arrangement, and then to provide the ongoing stability needed  to build bonds and support the child’s emotional needs as they grow up following the trauma, loss and disruption they have experienced. 

Natasha Rice, Tesco Group Reward and Wellbeing Director, said: “At Tesco, we believe every little help makes a big difference and strive for everyone to feel welcome. That’s why we’ve worked hard to invest in our family-friendly policies over recent years, part of which has been introducing paid kinship leave that mirrors the enhanced support we already provide for adoptive parents. We know that colleagues becoming a kinship carer find themselves in emotionally challenging circumstances, often very suddenly. By offering paid leave, we hope to help colleagues have the time and security they need to adapt, while knowing they really are valued and understood at Tesco.

“Colleagues should always feel supported at the moments that matter most. We are proud to lead the way but recognition for the guardians nurturing hundreds of thousands of children under kinship care should be nationwide. A new right to paid kinship leave would help meet the needs of working families, keeping talent in the workplace which is too often otherwise lost”.

Lucy Peake, CEO of Kinship, said: ”Kinship carers not receiving paid leave from work is an absurd gap in the law. Kinship carers play an incredibly valuable role and are a lifeline for the children they care for. They prevent children from growing up in care, saving the government billions, yet they are being plunged into debt or forced into claiming benefits for doing the right thing without any paid employment leave. You wouldn’t expect a parent with a newborn baby to go back to work the next day, so there’s no justifiable reason why kinship carers should be expected to do the same. They are being treated as second class citizens. 

“Kinship care rarely comes with notice but it frequently comes in traumatic circumstances and with a need to navigate complex systems.  Many kinship carers we speak to feel they would have been able to maintain employment if they’d had some time off to adjust, but this isn’t currently an option. Instead, they are forced out of the workforce and most never return. The government has recognised this needs to be considered in the upcoming parental leave review. We now need to see a commitment to a statutory entitlement to paid leave for kinship carers.” 

33% of kinship carers have taken on the care of a child aged under 1, and 45% a child aged 1 to 4 years. Kinship carer Lucy, 31, and her partner, from Cleethorpes, suddenly found themselves looking after a newborn baby when social services told them that Lucy’s nephew might be put up for adoption unless they could care for him.   

Kinship carer Lucy said: ”We both worked for large corporate companies in senior roles, and when we asked for paid maternity and paternity leave to enable us to be at home with our newborn nephew, we faced resistance and were told “no”. Instead, they gave me six weeks compassionate leave and my partner two weeks but said they wanted us back to work even though we had a six-week-old baby.  

“If I’d had paid leave from work the same as maternity or adoption leave, I wouldn’t have had the stress and worry of constantly thinking I would lose my job. It would have given me time to get over the shock of my situation and spend time bonding with him without having to feel guilty or worrying about money and our future.” 

Read Kinship’s proposal for kinship care leave 

Read more about our Kinship Friendly Employers scheme 

* The new Kinship research is a short poll conducted with 1,245 kinship carers from December 2025 to January 2026.