Kinship carers call for paid leave to match adoption offer

The move comes as a survey reveals that more than four in five kinship carers feel they must either quit their job or reduce their hours when they care for a child.

This is leading to many kinship families living in poverty and costing the UK economy more in benefits and lost taxation from their income, according to the charity Kinship, which has carried out the survey.

A National Kinship Care strategy is expected to the published by the government by the end of 2023 and the charity wants this to include a commitment around statutory paid leave for kinship careers that is on a par with adoptive parents.

The move would impact thousands of families, with more than 162,000 children in England and Wales living in kinship care arrangements, where a relative or friend look after a child when parents are unable to care for them.

One carer who was forced to quit her job, when she took care of her nephew, is Natalie from Bradford.

“It was an absolute nightmare,” she said.

“Paid parental leave would have made a massive difference to us all.”

Kinship cites the example of retailer Cardfactory, which is already offering paid leave to kinship carers as part of commitments around diversity in its recruitment.

“These findings show the sharp contrast between workplace support given to adopters and parents, and that which is available to kinship carers,” said Kinship chief executive Lucy Peake.

“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.”