Fostering is not treated as being in work nor self-employment. The DWP view is that foster carers are providing a service and are neither employed nor self-employed as foster carers. (However, please note that HMRC do treat foster carers as self-employed and all foster carers will need to register as self employed).
All fostering payments are disregarded as income. Universal Credit is based on a list of income that is fully or partly counted. If a source of income is not on that list, then it is disregarded. Payments for fostering are not on that list and are therefore disregarded as income.
You still need to declare all of the fostering payments you are getting from your fostering service on any universal credit form/claim or on your on-line 'journal' once your claim is made. Include a note saying that your fostering payments should be fully disregarded otherwise the DWP may assume your fostering payments coming into your bank account are undeclared wages.
Single foster carers caring for a foster child aged under one have no work-related requirements. Single foster carers with a child aged over one but under 16 are only required to attend 'work focused interviews'. They do not have any other work-related requirements until the child reaches 16. They will then be required to look for, and be available for, work.
Foster carer couples must nominate a 'lead carer'.The lead foster carer in a household is not generally required to look for work as a condition of getting benefit, in all cases where the child is under 16 and in some cases up to their 18th birthday. The other foster carer has all the work-related requirements that apply in his/her circumstance i.e. look for work if unemployed, prove that they have limited capacity for work if unable to work due to ill-health.
A single or lead foster carer (if part of a couple) between placements is allowed a continuous and unbroken period of eight weeks before full work search and availability requirements are applied - so long as they show evidence of an intention to continue fostering.
When a foster carer is caring for a foster child who is 16 or 17 and needs full-time care (in exceptional circumstances and where there is evidence*), the foster carer is only required to participate in work-focused interviews and no other work-related requirements. This continues until the child reaches 18 or the placement ends, whichever comes first.
When a foster carer couple are caring for a foster child or children who need full-time care by both foster carers (in exceptional circumstances and where there is evidence*), both foster carers are only required to participate in work-focused interviews and no other work-related requirements.
*Note: There is no definitive list of evidence which is deemed acceptable, this allows there to be flexibility rather than it being restrictive. A DWP decision maker will use the available evidence (as provided by the foster carer) to decide whether the carer has shown sufficient evidence that care needs are such that it would be unreasonable to expect the foster carer to be able to carry out work related requirements. A key piece of evidence a foster carer could provide is something in writing from their fostering service which states the carer cannot work together with the reasons.
Do I have to declare my fostering payments on any universal credit claim form given that they are to be fully disregarded as income/earnings?
Yes, you still need to declare all of the fostering payments you are getting from your fostering service on any universal credit form/claim, but they must be fully disregarded when calculating the amount of universal credit award you will get.
What can I do if my fostering payments are not being correctly disregarded as income/earnings?
If the DWP are incorrectly taking your fostering payments into consideration as income/earnings, raise this with your work coach and keep a note in your journal. Sometimes work coaches may not fully understand fostering and that the payments are not included.
