Around a quarter of a million care workers across the country help to support many thousands of elderly and disabled people in their own homes with personal care. It recent years there has been a continued shift away from local councils directly employing their own “in-house” care staff to councils contracting the delivery of this work to external care providers. A major factor in this shift has been a massive drive to keep down costs including the pay that care workers receive. Keeping care workers’ pay down does not just affect the pay in care worker’s pockets, it is worth remembering that in many cases, it can also directly affect the quality of service provided.

A major issue at present is whether employers pay their care workers for the travel time between visits. Care workers can be required to have several visits throughout their working day. This is very different than someone having to make their own arrangements to get to work at the beginning or the end of their shift. A recent investigation by Her Majesties Revenue and Customs (HMRC), found that 50% of care provider were paying below the national minimum wage. HMRC fined one home care provider £600,000 for failing to pay their workers the minimum wage through not paying for travel time between visits. According to information received by public service trade union, Unison a staggering 93% of local councils in England and Wales do not make it a contractual obligation for home care providers to pay workers for travel time. This means that every day, corners are being cut in the care provided to some of the most vulnerable members of our society. This is a national scandal which has to stop. Care companies need careful monitoring to ensure that there are decent standards of care, this should include careful monitoring of their employment practices. Councils must stop turning a blind eye to this problem and take responsibility for services that they commission. It is time to pay care workers fairly, this includes a decent hourly rate and payment for travel time. Recent rulings on travel time and holiday pay mean that it is more important than ever that care workers have access to trade union advice and support. Further details about the campaign to pay up for travel time are available at:

http://you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/bolton-unison-call-for-ethical-care-charter

Joan Pritchard-Jones

Deane

Bolton