NEARLY 300,000 families where both parents are in full-time employment need an eight-day working week to escape poverty, a charity has warned.

Action for Children said its research challenges the “myth that work alone is a passport out of poverty.”

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak told Parliament after last year’s Autumn Statement that “the best way” to avoid child poverty is to ensure that “they do not grow up in a workless household.”

Charity chief executive Paul Carberry said: “Our research shows we need to be honest about why so many children are growing up poor and confront the myth that work alone is a passport out of poverty.

“In this election year, this is something all political parties must address.

“Further research is needed into the financial challenges facing these working families so we can find more targeted and effective solutions.

“This should be part of a wider programme of reform that strengthens the social security system and tackles the barriers to work and opportunity that are keeping families trapped in poverty.”

The analysis found almost 300,000 low-income families with children in Britain are trapped in poverty despite the parent or parents in that household working at least 30 hours a week.

A household is considered to be in relative poverty if it is below 60 per cent of the median income after housing costs.

The charity’s calculations suggested these families need to work an additional 19 hours a week to break through the poverty line.

A government spokesperson said: “Children are five times less likely to experience poverty living in a household where all adults work, compared to those in workless households, which is why this government has reduced the number of workless households by almost 700,000 since 2010.”