Department for Education introduces paid kinship care leave for its staff

The Department for Education (DfE) has become the first government department to achieve “gold standard” from the Kinship Friendly Employer Scheme, having introduced paid “kinship care leave” for employees caring for the child of a family member or friend.

In a presentation on Wednesday 8 January, the Permanent Secretary of the Department for Education, Susan Acland-Hood, received the award celebrating organisations who implement HR policies to support kinship carer employees.

“Gold standard” support includes offering paid leave to all kinship carers, when they take on the care of a child, that is equal to the organisation’s adoption leave and pay. “Gold standard” support also includes providing information to kinship carers and signposting them to where they can access further support.

The charity Kinship says such policies are ‘vital’ to enable kinship carers to remain in work when they take on the care of a child.

“Kinship carers play a crucial role in giving children a safe and loving home. What they do transforms children’s lives and life chances – but they often aren’t given the same support as other parents and carers,” Susan Acland-Hood, Permanent Secretary at the Department for Education, said.

Research published 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.

“It was important for us as an employer to back kinship carers in doing this remarkable, life-changing thing,” Acland-Hood added, urging all organisations to review their own policies and explore the changes they can make.

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.

CEO of Kinship, Lucy Peake said: “The Department for Education becoming a gold standard Kinship Friendly Employer is a great first step for the civil service towards ensuring fairness and equality for kinship carers within their teams, and we hope that other government departments will follow their lead.

“When employers introduce policies to support kinship carers in the workforce, it enables kinship carers to remain in work, protecting their incomes and career prospects. Kinship care leave provides crucial time to help children settle into their new home after experiencing significant trauma, separation and loss.

“There is currently a sharp contrast between the workplace support that is 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 needed a stable home.”