Can you foster and work full time?

What is classed as full-time work?

In the UK, you’re considered to work full-time if you work for 35 hours or more per week.

This includes:

• If you work shifts or condensed hours e.g. working 40 hours across 4 days
• If you work from home
• If you work for yourself (self-employed)

When it comes to fostering, the most important thing is that you are available for your foster child whenever they need you. This is very difficult if you work full time.

Can you work full time and be a foster parent?

Most foster parents choose to foster full time so that they can focus on giving their foster children the support they need. In fact, we’ve found that when our foster carers have tried to work full-time alongside full-time fostering, they’ve found it hasn’t worked due to the commitments of fostering. Being a foster carer requires you to be available for key meetings with your child’s support team, for example, sessions with social workers, their health care team, and contact meetings with their birth family.

That said, it is sometimes possible for you to work full time and be a foster parent. For example:

• If you are the secondary foster carer: Foster children are assigned a primary carer and a secondary carer. If your partner or spouse is the child’s primary carer, they would stay at home and be available to meet the child’s needs. This would mean that you could go to work full time.
• If you provide respite foster care: Instead of fostering a child long-term, you could provide respite foster care. This type of care is designed to give a child’s usual foster carers a short break. During this time, the child stays with another foster family. This type of care usually takes place on weekends and in the school holidays, so it is possible to fit in around your usual work.

You can’t work full time and be a foster parent if:

• You’re a single foster parent: This is because it won’t be possible for you to fulfil your responsibilities as their primary carer. You could consider respite fostering instead. In some circumstances, you may be able to work part-time and foster, if your role allows you the flexibility to be available to meet your foster child’s needs.

Can I work full-time and foster if I work from home?

Foster children need your full attention if they are at home with you during the day. If you have a full-time contract with fixed hours you need to work each week, you won’t be approved as a full-time foster carer even if you work from home. The fostering assessment panel will assume that your work duties will clash with the needs of the foster child in your care.

If you have a flexible working agreement with your employer, you will need to provide evidence of this as part of the assessment process. This is to make sure that the children in your care can be prioritised above your work responsibilities.

Can fostering be a full-time job?

In essence, yes, fostering can be a full-time role, though most of our carers see it as a lifestyle, rather than a job, as it’s so much more than just work.

The skills and time you give as a foster carer are vitally important, which is why you will be paid for the care you provide. This makes it possible for many people to foster instead of working.

Our information about foster care pay will help you understand how much you could earn.

Can you foster part time?

Strictly speaking, there’s no such thing as part-time fostering. However, if it’s not possible for you to leave full-time work, or you don’t feel ready to, you could still foster a child on weekends or in the school holidays. This is known as respite foster care and is a way for a child’s regular carers to take a break.

By providing this type of care you can experience the rewards of fostering, and still fit this around your regular work. Some new foster parents start with respite care to help them decide if long-term fostering is the right choice for them.

Can you work part-time and foster?

Yes, it is possible to work part time and be a foster parent, as long as your job allows you the time and flexibility to meet your foster child’s needs. For example, you would need to be available for:

• Doing the school run
• Going to regular meetings with their social worker
• Taking them to health care appointments
• Taking them for contact sessions with their birth family
• Any additional support sessions they need with education, mental health, etc.

When you apply to foster, our team will talk you through the responsibilities you’ll have as a foster parent and how these would fit into your lifestyle, so you can decide if it’s the right choice for you.

Take the next step to fostering
When you foster with National Fostering Group, you’re never on your own: you’ll be part of a strong fostering network with 24-hour support, local professionals on hand and locally-delivered training. Learn more about becoming a foster carer and take the next step in your fostering career.