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Our advice service

Are you a parent, kinship carer relative or friend of a child who is involved with, or who needs the help of, children’s services in England? We can help you understand processes and options when social workers or courts are making decisions about your child’s welfare.

Our advice service is free, independent and confidential.

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To speak to an adviser, please call our free and confidential advice line 0808 801 0366 (Monday to Friday 9.30am to 3pm, excluding Bank Holidays). Or you can ask us a question via email using our advice enquiry form.

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Our online advice forums are an anonymous space where parents and kinship carers (also known as family and friends carers) can get legal and practical advice, build a support network and learn from other people’s experiences.

Advice on our website

Our get help and advice section has template letters, advice sheets and resources about legal and social care processes. On Monday and Wednesday afternoons, you can use our webchat service to chat online to an adviser.

 

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Same Love, Same Leave: Helping kinship carers remain in work

Same Love, Same Leave is a set of proposals by Family Rights Group to improve employment rights for kinship carers, including the right to paid employment leave 

Kinship carers provide love and care to children who may otherwise be in the care system. They are relatives and friends who step up in times of crisis when children cannot remain with their parents. There are different types of kinship arrangements and these have significant implications for the practical and financial support available to the carer and child. 

There is no single definition of kinship care written into the law.  

A Challenging Time

The period when a child moves in to live with their kinship carer can be difficult. It often follows tragedy, and the child is likely to need significant support. Settling a child of any age into their new home has its challenges. Many kinship carers have to make arrangements with the child’s school and GP alongside managing the demands of children’s services involvement and court proceedings.  

Kinship Carers and Employment

Our survey data shows that a third (34%) of kinship carers of working age (18-64) are not currently in employment due to their caring responsibilities. 74% of kinship carers who responded to our survey indicate that they had to change their working pattern when they took on their kinship children, with 42% giving up work completely and 23% reducing their hours.  

Our data shows that women are more likely than men to give up work completely or reduce their hours when becoming a kinship carer and more likely not to be in paid employment. Kinship carers who are raising a kinship child with a disability or additional needs are significantly more likely to give up work.  

Chrissi, raising her four grandchildren, shares her experience with 5 News:

Family Rights Group

Financial Hardship

Leaving employment frequently causes kinship carers to become reliant upon the social security system and face financial hardship. 37% of kinship carers are in receipt of Universal Credit, compared to 15% of the general population. Family Rights Group secured a 12-month concession for new kinship carers to work conditionality rules. However, stricter rules introduced in 2023 mean that after 12 months kinship carers are now required to spend even more time looking for work, unlike foster carers, failing to recognise their caring responsibilities and placing them under additional strain.  

Paid Employment Leave for Kinship Carers

Family Rights Group is campaigning for kinship carers to have an entitlement to paid employment leave akin to adopters. This would help more kinship carers to stay in work, as they would be able to take time off to adjust to their new family life, without risking their job. 73% of kinship cares that we surveyed would have taken up kinship leave had it been available to them and 39% believe the fact that it was not available had a negative impact on them and their ability to care for their kinship child.  

Family Rights Group

An Economic Boost

An independent cost benefit analysis by Alma Economics, commissioned by Family Rights Group, found that a right to paid employment leave, equivalent to adoption leave and rate of pay for all new and existing kinship carers in England would generate wealth for the country.

For every £1 spent, £2.20 of benefits would be generated for the Treasury and wide society over the next 30 years.  

Read our policy paper

Explore the findings of our 2024 survey of kinship carers and our proposals for stronger employment rights and social security protection for kinship carers

Download

Read Alma Economics' analysis

Explore cost benefit analysis by Alma Economics on introducing a right to paid employment leave for kinship carers

Download

Towards a kinship-friendly workplace

Government and employers can act today to ensure that kinship carers are supported in the workplace.

National government should:

  1. Legislate for a universal definition of kinship care: Read more about Family Rights Group’s proposals for a legal definition of kinship care 
  2. Legislate for a right to paid kinship employment leave and protection, akin to adoption leave, for all kinship carers 
  3. Update Universal Credit rules to bring work capability requirements for kinship carers in line with those for foster carers

Employers should:

  1. Develop employment polices that recognise the needs of staff who are kinship carers. Government, local government and public agencies should lead by example  

Join our Act for Kinship Care campaign

Family Rights Group is calling on the UK Government to improve recognition and support for kinship families. That starts with four transformative measures in law:

  1. A statutory definition of kinship care. To improve recognition and understanding of kinship care in all its forms and establish the foundation for an effective support system.
  2. A duty on local authorities to develop and publish a local offer for kinship families, setting out the support they will provide.
  3. A legal right for families to be offered a family group conference before social workers consider going to court to remove their children. To allow families to take a lead in finding safe solutions, including identifying potential kinship carers.
  4. A right to paid employment leave, akin to adoption leave, to support carers to remain in work while giving us time to settle the children in.

How you can support the campaign

  • Write to your MP using our easy campaign tool




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