Asked by: Chris Bloore (Labour - Redditch)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, whether their Department offers (a) paid time off work and (b) other support to employees who become kinship carers.
Answered by Hilary Benn - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
The Northern Ireland Office does not have a policy which explicitly covers (a) paid time off work and (b) other support to employees who become kinship carers. We follow the Ministry of Justice Flexible Working and Special Leave Policies, which supports and enables employees to take time off work to deal with an emergency or situation involving a dependant.
Employees are able to request other leave, paid and unpaid, as well as annual and flexi leave as required to support them when they become a kinship carer. Employees are also able to request flexible working to support both short term and longer term arrangements.