If you have a job you rely on, it is natural to assume fostering is off the table. Lots of people quietly rule themselves out at this point, without ever asking the question out loud. So here it is, asked plainly: can you foster and work full time?
This post gives you an honest answer. It covers what fostering actually asks of your time, what a working week can look like, which types of fostering fit best around a job, and what to ask your employer before you decide anything.
The Short Answer
Sometimes, but it depends on the child, the type of fostering and how much flexibility you have. Most people who foster alongside work do so part time, from home or in a flexible role, and that is where fostering usually fits best.
You are not alone in asking. According to The Fostering Network’s Fostering Friendly Employers scheme, nearly 40 per cent of foster carers combine fostering with other work. The Fostering Network’s guide to who can foster says it is often possible to work part time, particularly when caring for school-age children, and that depending on the needs and age of the children in your care, it may also be possible to work full time. Each fostering service sets its own policy, which is why it is worth asking the question early.
What Fostering Asks of Your Time
This is the part that matters most, so we will be specific. Before you ask whether you can foster if you work full time, it helps to know what the time commitment actually looks like.
As a foster carer, you are expected to be available for:
- Meetings and reviews: regular visits from your supervising social worker, visits from the child’s own social worker, and reviews of the child’s care plan.
- Training: your initial training, then the training, support and development standards workbook, which must be completed within 12 months of approval, followed by ongoing learning.
- Support groups: time with other carers, which many carers say is where the real learning happens.
- Family time: helping the child keep in touch with their birth family, which can mean taking them to and from contact.
- School: school runs, parents’ evenings, meetings with teachers and the phone call to say a child is unwell.
- The unplanned days: a child who is off sick, a difficult night, or a school exclusion.
There is one more point worth knowing now rather than later. The Fostering Network says fostering services would not usually consider it appropriate for a fostered child to be in full-time daycare while their foster carer works. After-school clubs and other childcare arrangements may be considered if they are in the child’s best interests. Children in care have often had a lot of disruption, and having a consistent adult around is a large part of what helps them settle.
None of this means work is impossible. It means the question is less about your hours on paper and more about how much give there is in them.
A Real Week
“I work four days a week in an office job, and my employer lets me start early so I can finish in time for the school pickup. On Mondays I do the school run before work, and the child I care for goes to an after-school club until I collect them at half five.
Tuesday is my day at home. That is when I book in visits from my supervising social worker and any meetings with school, so they do not clash with work.
Wednesday and Thursday are normal working days. Family time happens on a Thursday after school, and the transport is arranged so I do not need to leave work early.
Fridays are the busy ones. I finish at three, collect from school and we have the evening together. Training sessions are usually online, so I fit them in during the evening or on my day at home.
The weeks that are hardest are the ones you do not plan for, like when a child is off sick. My manager knows I foster, and that has made a big difference.”
Types of Fostering That Fit Around Work
Some types of fostering are easier to balance with a job than others. As a general guide:
- Caring for school-age children: children who are at school during the day leave more room for work than babies or toddlers, who need someone at home.
- Couples where one partner has more flexibility: in a couple, one carer working full time while the other works part time or from home is a common arrangement.
- Short breaks: some fostering services offer short break or respite care, where you look after a child for weekends or set periods to give their usual carers a rest. We will cover this in a future post.
The right fit depends on you, your household and the child. That is something we talk through carefully with every carer during assessment and matching.
Can you Foster and Work? – Talking to Your Employer
This is where many articles get it wrong, so accuracy matters.
Foster carers do not have a legal right to time off work to foster. GOV.UK’s guide to help and support for foster carers says your employer may let you take time off when a child first comes to live with you, or for things like training, but you do not have a statutory right to time off.
What you do have is the right to ask for flexible working. Under GOV.UK’s flexible working rules, all employees can make a request from their first day in a job. You can ask to change your hours, your start and finish times, the days you work or where you work. Your employer must deal with the request in a reasonable manner and make a decision within two months, and you can make two requests in any 12-month period. They can refuse, but only for a good business reason.
Before you apply to foster, it is worth asking HR two questions:
- Do we have a fostering policy, or any paid leave for foster carers?
- Are we part of The Fostering Network’s Fostering Friendly Employers scheme?
Members of that scheme agree to a fostering friendly HR policy, which includes flexible working and paid time off for training and for settling a new child into your home.
The Money Question
If you are thinking about reducing your hours to foster, the next question is usually whether the money works. Fostering payments are made for each child in your care, and most foster carers pay little or no tax on them because of qualifying care relief. Our post on what a foster carer in Essex is actually paid walks through the real figures and two worked examples, and our foster carer pay page sets out what Apex provides.
It is worth being honest about this too. Fostering payments depend on having a child living with you, so it is sensible to plan for gaps between placements rather than rely on fostering as your only income straight away.
Hearing From a Carer Who Made the Switch
Marlene, one of our carers, chose fostering instead of going back to a traditional full-time job. She described the difference in her episode of On the Sofa with Sal:
“I have more time for myself. I’m working with the children, but I have flexibility.”
You can read more in Marlene’s story.
Every Apex carer also has a dedicated supervising social worker. Our Senior Social Worker, Paulette White, explains what that looks like in her post on support for foster carers at Apex.
Frequently Asked Questions About Fostering and Work
Can you foster and work full time?
Sometimes. It depends on the child’s age and needs, the type of fostering and how flexible your job is. Most carers who work do so part time, from home or in a flexible role. Fostering services each set their own policy, so ask early.
Can both partners in a couple work?
It depends on the child and the hours involved. In many fostering households, one partner works full time and the other has more flexibility, so someone is available for school, meetings and the unplanned days.
Will my employer give me time off to foster?
They may, but they do not have to. Foster carers have no statutory right to time off. You can make a flexible working request from your first day in a job, and some employers have a fostering policy or belong to the Fostering Friendly Employers scheme.
Can I foster if I work shifts?
Possibly. It depends on the pattern of your shifts, the support around you and the needs of the child. Regular night shifts can be harder to manage, so talk it through with the fostering service before you apply.
Can I work from home and foster?
Yes, working from home can make fostering easier to manage. You will still need time for meetings, school and family time, and a young child will need care during the day, so working from home is not a replacement for childcare.
Do I have to give up work to foster?
Not necessarily. Many foster carers carry on working, often part time or in a flexible role. Some choose to make fostering their main focus, particularly when caring for children with more complex needs.
Next Steps
If you want to understand more without talking to anyone yet, come to one of our free webinars. You can watch, listen and leave. There is no obligation.
If you are wondering how fostering would fit around your job, book a place on our free webinar and hear it from our team directly. If you rent your home, our post on whether you can foster if you rent covers that question too.
Author Bio
Written by Sali Walker
Founder and Business Manager at Apex Fostering.
Sali is care experienced and has been a foster carer. They saw first-hand how often placements and support can fall short, and set up Apex Fostering to do things differently, with better support for carers and children at the centre of every decision.
