Islanders are “living in poverty” because they don’t know what benefits they are entitled to when starting a family, according to a frontline charity.
Brighter Futures Operations Manager Lauren Maggs said that her staff see families living in poverty “on a regular basis” for this reason.
“We see lots of families struggling to afford food to put on the table and things like that,” she explained
“There are parents who are not eating so their children can eat. It’s not an urban myth.”
She highlighted the example of one client who was pregnant and wasn’t aware of any of the support she entitled to.
“It’s a big concern for lots of pregnant mums in Jersey about access to funds,” she said.
There are parents who are not eating so their children can eat. It’s not an urban myth.
lauren maggs, operations manager at brighter futures
“How am I going to be able to put a child in nursery? How am I going to be able to feed the family?”
Her comments came during a hearing before a panel of politicians currently reviewing the island’s family friendly legislation.
Mrs Maggs explained that the charity’s perinatal lead often has to go with clients to the Employment, Social Security and Housing Department to “make sure that they are getting what they’re entitled to”.
“Even a couple of £100 is huge for some families,” she added. “That’s that’s their food for that month.”
Brighter Futures staff also said that some families, especially those involved in child protection matters, are “very cautious” about engaging with Social Security because they view it as “another arm of government”.
Charity ambassador Sarah Nibbs explained: “There hasn’t always been a positive relationship because of interactions with the family, and that feeling of cautiousness and fear and can extend to other elements [of government].”
She said that this can be a “barrier” to accessing support.
Representatives from the charity highlighted the fact that hospitality workers and self-employed islanders face particular challenges in accessing parental leave and financial support.
Hospitality work often requires parents to “tag-team” childcare shifts, they explained, which can lead to family strain.
Meanwhile, self-employed people feel that they have to return to work almost immediately after childbirth due to lack of paid leave.
The Family Friendly Post-Implementation Sub-Panel was set up to assess how changes to the Employment Law made in 2018 and 2020 have been implemented, and what the impact has been on local families.
The States Assembly approved a number of amendments to the Employment Law in 2018 including increasing the length of paid parental leave for both parents, and introducing paid absences for pregnant or breastfeeding islanders who are unable to work on health and safety grounds.
Last year, a survey was carried out by the Social Security Minister to review how these amendments had been received by employers and employees.
Following the results, the Minister concluded that a number of actions were needed including increasing awareness of the changes, and to further look at the rules regarding parental allowance.
In yesterday’s hearing, representatives from Brighter Futures called for better communication around available benefits – such as including information in pregnancy packs, using simpler language, providing human support over automated systems, and using social media to communicate entitlements.
