when should I stop work

[millie]

Hi I was wondering if anyone could offer me any further advice. My granddaughter has been placed with my husband and myself on a temporary residence order and we are to have contact with our grandson so he can be moved into our care in the next few weeks. We are also going to have another viability assessment. The question is my husband is disabled and I have been told that it would be better to pack in work so I would be at home full time.I have been thinking about packing in work for a while now. I am currently off work sick. When would it be best to hand in my notice

[millie]

Hi Irene
We ve been told possibly the end of Jan. We are having contact with him in order to get a bond back with him and we are being assessed I think to see how we can cope with both children. I only have to give one weeks notice at work., so you are probably right in saying to hang on as long as possible

[David Roth]

You should bear in mind that by giving up work it is probable that you will suffer a drop in income, at the same time as you take on additional financial responsibilities for these two children. I would suggest that you need to negotiate with the local authority over the level of financial support they are willing to provide for you to look after these two children, and make sure that anything they say they will provide gets put in writing.

I note that you stated you have a temporary residence order - what orders are you going to have for the children eventually? If you are not thinking of special guardianship, then I would suggest that it is worth considering. Research we published in 2013 showed that carers with SGO were quite a lot more likely to get a financial allowance from the local authority than those with RO. There is a regulatory framework around SGO support, in the Special Guardianship Regulations and Guidance, but for RO the law only goes so far as to allow the local authority to pay an allowance if it wants to - it is completely discretionary.

You should be aware that in general the government expects people who are not in work to be actively seeking it. However, there are two important exceptions. This 'work conditionality requirement' does not apply if you are raising a child under five, or for the first year after a child is placed with a family and friends carer - we managed to persuade the government to make this just about the only exception to the work conditionality requirement in its Welfare Reform Act.

[millie]

Hi many thanks for getting back to me. I m just concerned that we might be told due to my husband's disability that it may be seen as a factor for not being able to care for the children. We recieved the order for my granddaughter .on it , it says residence order under section 8 children's act 1989. I was under the impression that we had a temporary residence order but it does not say that. Would it state that it temporary. I also have contacted my solicitor regarding a sgo.

[David Roth]

In answer to the temporary residence order question - legally there is actually no such thing as an Interim Residence Order. The 1989 Children Act does give the court specific powers to make Interim Care Orders, which are limited-term Care Orders that apply while care proceedings are going through the court process. There is no mention of Interim Residence Orders, it has just become custom and practice for courts to grant so-called Interim Residence Orders if children are placed with family and friends carers during care proceedings.