1,000 signatures reached
To: All the legislative making bodies that make up UK governance.
Grant Our Foster Carers Worker Status!
Grant Foster Carers “Worker Status” which will provide Foster Carers with basic employment protections and rights.
Why is this important?
Despite providing a highly complex and demanding service to some of the most hurt and vulnerable children and young people in our society, tens of thousands of Foster Carers across the UK have NO rights or protections which all other workers can rightly take for granted.
Foster Carers receive no holiday pay, sick pay, access to workbased pension schemes, right to a tribunal, are not protected by the whistle blowing policy, etc, etc. All because the law doesn’t recognise Foster Carers as workers. Furthermore, Foster Carers are routinely subjected to unfair treatment, punitive actions without redress and are vulnerable to being deregistered or not used at the whim of their local authority or private fostering agency. This level of vulnerability and exploitation is completely unacceptable.
Foster Carers are expected to sign and work to a complex and comprehensive contract/agreement, receive supervision, expected to undertaking increasing levels of training, are bound to one fostering service provider at any one time, can face disciplinary and punitive actions, have their homes inspected at any time day or night, have to comply with national minimum standards, etc, WITHOUT any protections, standards, laws and rights that recognise them as workers.
This draconian and exploitative situation cannot continue.
This campaign is spearheaded and supported by the - Foster Care Workers Union, which is a branch of the Independent Workers of Great Britain - www.fcwu.org.uk
