Foster carers win employment rights appeal

Foster carers from Glasgow have won an appeal granting them a number of employment rights.

The union backing their action said it would open the door to other foster care workers seeking to establish their status as employees.

Jimmy and Christine Johnstone claim to have suffered an unlawful loss of income after not having a child placed with them.

The Johnstones had been foster carers for six years.

They took action to establish that they should be treated like direct employees of Glasgow City Council with a degree of security over their income.

An employment appeal tribunal has now agreed that their agreement with the council was "contractual in nature" and contained "elements indicative of a contract of employment".

Employment rights

The appeal decision followed three years of action involving the couple.

Mr Johnstone said: "We're so happy that hopefully it helps other foster care workers. We need these rights.

"We need basic employment rights for all foster carers so that they can do a better job for the young people that they work with."

The action by the Johnstones was backed by the Independent Workers Union of Great Britain (IWGB).

It called the appeal decision a "landmark legal victory" which would have implications for other foster carers.

The Johnstone's backers believe it will be significant for many other foster carers

IWGB foster care workers branch secretary Pauline Graham said: "The question of employment rights for foster care workers goes to the heart of why our foster care system is in crisis.

"Carers are leaving the system in droves as they are pushed around, victimised and neglected by their employers.

"The result is a growing number of young people in children's homes."

The union said the success of the Johnstones would lead to other carers taking action to establish their rights.

Ms Graham added: "What's at stake is nothing less than the wellbeing of our most vulnerable children."

'Specialist care'

IWGB has called on both the UK and Scottish governments to review the rights of foster care workers, and to grant them employment rights.

Glasgow City Council, reacting to the decision, said it only applied to a specialist form of foster care.

A spokesman for the council said: "This judgement relates to a service that provided a specialist form of foster care.

"We are now carefully considering the implications of the judgement.

"However, we do note that, as with the initial employment tribunal decision, the findings in this judgement do not extend to the status of mainstream foster carers."

The Johnstones said their dispute with the council began when they raised concerns about a child they had been looking after.

They claim that, instead of providing the support the child needed, the council turned on the couple for speaking out.

Mr Johnstone said: "We spoke up for a young person and we'd serious concerns about their treatment - or lack of treatment.

"We were bullied and victimised. We were relentlessly told we had no rights.

"So basically we couldn't speak up for any of our young people."

Christine Johnstone says fostering is a "brilliant job"

Jimmy and Christine Johnstone said they are committed as ever to helping vulnerable young people and would love to return to working with them - something they have not been able to do since taking their case to a tribunal.

"I think it's an absolutely brilliant job," Ms Johnstone said.

"It's great to help young people, to help them get their life back on track, to get them back to their families."

Mr Johnstone added: "You invest a lot in it, with your home, your young people.

"It's amazing to get a young person who moves in with you totally broken and you can help them.

"You try to get them back into a sense of normality, of safety. There's nothing better."