Working Families have launched a new campaign to help parents of disabled children find work and stay in employment.
The campaign, ‘working On’, calls for changes from the Government, local authorities, employers and support services to help parents of disabled children to combine work and care.
Commenting on the campaign, Sarah Jackson, Chief Executive of Working Families, said:
“Our survey last year found alarming rates of unemployment and underemployment among parents of disabled children. Yet most of these parents want to work and so we’re campaigning to ensure that they get the support they need to find, stay and progress in work.”
She continued:
“Working On” will raise awareness of the barriers these parents face, and propose a number of practical changes to support parents to stay in work and keep their families out of poverty.”
It has been revealed that the campaign is asking for a new form of “adjustment leave” to give parents short-term time off work during a disability diagnosis or crisis.
It also wants to see targeted training, advice and job search support for parents wishing to return to work as well as more flexible working opportunities.
In addition, it states that it wants all public sector jobs to be advertised on a more flexible basis and wants to ensure that schools have resources to deal with emergencies so parents are not unnecessarily called in.
