Kinship carers are being forced out of work by a system that doesn’t value their love. When family members and friends step up to raise children when their parents can’t, they have very little support – especially from their employers.
New Kinship research shows that more than 8 in 10 kinship carers across England and Wales are forced to leave their jobs or reduce their hours due to lack of support. Nearly 7 in 10 are offered no support from their employer at all. This isn’t good enough.
Since October, Kinship's #ValueOurLove campaign has been calling for improved support for kinship families, including equal workplace entitlements to adoptive families.
At the end of the year, the UK Government are launching their first ever Kinship Care Strategy. This gives us a short but vital window of opportunity to influence what is included.
Please send a quick email to Government Minister, 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.
