On 7th March, foster carers Karl and Diane Boyle will take North Lanarkshire Council to an employment tribunal seeking workers rights, protections and compensation for unfair dismissal and unlawful deduction of wages - and they need your help. 

The crisis in foster care

Foster care workers are professional caregivers on call 24 hours a day, 365 days a year for some of Britain’s most vulnerable children, yet we do not have access to basic workers rights and like many care workers we are undervalued and exploited.

Most of us are paid subminimum wage and denied basic worker rights like sick pay and holiday pay. Our precarious status even puts lives in danger by denying protections to those who raise care quality concerns. Anyone who speaks out stands to lose not just our livelihoods but our homes and our children as well.

Rights for Foster Carers!

Through our union, the Independent Workers’ union of Great Britain (IWGB), we have been fighting for basic worker rights. 

In 2019 the IWGB won a landmark case establishing basic worker rights for two Glasgow-based foster carers for the first time ever in the UK. Karl and Diane’s case will help pave the way for expanding the rights to all foster care workers. We are aiming to raise at least £2000 to cover Karl and Diane’s legal fees.

Donate, Share, Support!

Please show your support by donating whatever you can afford and sharing this crowdfunder on social media and with friends and families to help raise awareness.

All donations will go towards the legal fees for Karl and Diane’s landmark legal challenge. 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. Any remaining funds will be put towards the IWGB Foster Care Workers Branch’s wider campaigning.