Donate to the Foster Care Workers Fighting Fund

The frontline workers staffing Britain’s fourth emergency service - and the children in our care - urgently need your help. Foster carers are professional caregivers on call 24 hours a day, 365 days a year for some of Britain’s most vulnerable children, yet like many care workers we are undervalued and exploited.

Many of us are paid subminimum wage and we are denied basic worker rights like sick pay and holiday pay. Our precarious status even puts lives in danger by making it difficult for us to raise the alarm over care quality concerns, as those who speak out stand to lose not just our livelihoods but our homes and our children as well.

Through our union, the IWGB, we have been fighting for basic worker rights so we can advocate better for ourselves and for the children who need us. In 2019 we won a landmark case establishing basic worker rights for two Glasgow-based foster carers for the first time ever in the UK. Now, we need your help to turn this victory into systemic change.

This crowdfunder will contribute to legal costs for landmark foster care worker rights cases and fund local grassroots IWGB campaigns for wider change.

Click here to make a donation!

Jimmy & Christine’s Story - our first step towards justice

“Our battle began when a young person in our care who had extreme mental distress became a danger not only to themselves, but also to us. It was a deeply traumatic and dangerous situation that brought us to our knees. I resorted to citing health and safety standards – only to be told by the council that since we were not employees, it had no duty of care towards our safety. We were in fear of our lives and the child’s. We begged for help and were met with a staggering level of disregard.

“We had no choice but to whistleblow: we made a report to the Scottish Fire Service and an independent social worker, who raised the alarm on our behalf. Glasgow City Council was furious. The child was taken away from us. We were victimised, bullied and pushed out of the project.” - Jimmy Johnstone in The Guardian

But after a lengthy legal battle, Jimmy, Christine and the IWGB won recognition of their rights at an employment tribunal - the first time this had ever happened in the UK. It was a significant step towards basic rights for all those working in one of the UK’s most important and undervalued public services. Care-experienced MP Chris Law calls foster care our fourth emergency service “because that’s what it is: a professional and dedicated staff who respond to crises and save lives.”

Why We Need Your Support

We are viewed by many fostering agencies and local councils as an ultra-cheap, disposable, “good-will society” solution to care for some of Britain’s most vulnerable children. But providing parental-level care to vulnerable children with complex needs is a demanding and difficult vocation that requires professional training and immense dedication.

Foster care isn’t just a job, it’s one of the most important jobs in the world and it’s time for the government to recognise it as such.

We are now pursuing worker rights for all foster carers through grassroots local campaigns alongside landmark legal challenges - starting with Karl and Diane.

Grassroots Campaigns:

Foster carers across the UK are building local groups that are campaigning for meaningful change and win the conditions that we need in order to provide the quality of care that the young people in our care deserve. For example, Glasgow City Council foster care workers are coming together to fight to end the devastating 10 year pay freeze and win improved support for foster carers (include link for campaign website when it goes up).

Donate, Share, Support!

Please show your support by donating whatever you can afford and sharing this crowdfunder to help raise awareness.  

All donations go towards landmark legal challenges like Karl and Diane’s and the grassroots worker-led campaigns that support them. Together we can pave the way for basic worker rights for all foster carers and the best of new beginnings for the children in their care.