A leading charity that supports kinship carers is backing an amendment to the government’s Employment Rights Bill which would help deliver a new right to paid leave for kinship carers.
Kinship, which supports people who have stepped up to raise the child of a family member or friend whose parents are unable to care for them, has said that “kinship carers are often left out of the debate on parental leave”, and that “the inclusion of kinship carers in the bill is absolutely vital to prevent families being pushed into poverty and the benefits system.”
Steve Darling MP, Sarah Gibson MP and Munira Wilson MP put forward amendment NC14, a new clause that sets out an entitlement to kinship care leave. There are more than 141,000 children being raised in kinship care in England and Wales, three times the number in unrelated foster care.
CEO of Kinship, Lucy Peake said: “There is a sharp contrast between workplace support given to adopters and parents, and that which is available to kinship carers.
“Every day, kinship carers tell us that they have been pushed out of the workforce and into poverty, because they stepped up to care for a child who was in need of a stable home.”
Research published by Kinship last year showed that 8 in 10 kinship carers were forced to leave work or to reduce their hours when they took on the care of as child. Almost 7 in 10 (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.
Lucy Peake continued: “A right to kinship care leave would enable more kinship carers to remain in work when they want to, protecting their incomes and providing crucial time to help children settle into their new home after experiencing significant trauma, separation and loss.
“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.”
In the interim, Kinship’s pioneering Kinship Friendly Employers scheme is continuing to work with leading employers to help them introduce their own paid leave policies for their kinship carer employees. In 2023, Tesco – the UK’s largest private-sector employer – became one of the first major employers to join the Kinship Friendly Employers Scheme, granting colleagues who have a Special Guardianship Order (SGO) to care for relatives’ children equal rights with colleagues who adopt. Shortly after, B&Q became the first major high-street retailer to become a Gold Standard Kinship Friendly Employer, mirroring its enhanced adoption pay with eligible colleagues entitled to 6 weeks at 100% pay and 33 weeks at 50% pay.
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.
Leading kinship care charity, Kinship, supports more than 15,000 kinship carers across England and Wales each year, through free training sessions, one-to-one support, peer support groups, an expert advice line and its online information and support hub. Through its network of kinship carer campaigners and #ValueOurLove campaign, Kinship works to raise awareness of the challenges facing kinship families and get kinship carers the recognition and support they need. For more information visit kinship.org.uk