Scandal OF Private Social Care Providers AND Employment Sharp Pratices

Did You Know If YOU carer Is young SHE / HE might well be Cerer Apprentice On £1.90 for your half hour visit yet care provider gets £24 £25 ph.

Now this is where things get interesting even illegal in my opinion

A single young carer gets £3.90 ph as Apprentices IF half hour call takes two £3.90 is devided and each carer will get £1.90

So you see these private carer agencies are acting Ilegal and not paying min wage

Is a disgrace even Slavery Carer Apprentships and how they can chop and dice living wage.

When Care Providers charge by hour

[sassy59]

That makes shocking reading JAS. xxx

[Hidden in reply to sassy59]

Hi sassy this no reason apart from greed why carers are getting such a shocking deal THATs why Social Care is in crisis

[SquirrelsHolt]

Morning JAS,I'm in total agreement with you....the poor old NHS struggles with agency staff being paid far more than the regular nurses and it makes me mad to be honest 😠. Will there ever be a solution since we are so short of nurses/medical staff ,(even advertising in Australia for nurses) and nobody seems to want to sort out the whole situation and create an overall "fair wages policy"!!

[Hidden in reply to SquirrelsHolt]

I should turn post into post card and send to eu empire and MPs

Is sad how Social Care carers are treated n paid.

Half hour personal care and getting £1.90 things have to change FOR them and people care for.

[Hellebelle]

Hi, it is a scandal. In my opinion it is because of the obsession with contracting services out to the private sector. Those private care agencies take money from the public purse, unless you pay privately for your care. There seems to be very little oversight of them and they do not seem to treat their staff well. They cherry pick work, so if you live in a rural area it's really difficult to get an agency to take the package of care. My dad waited 8 weeks in a hospice to get an agency and we are currently noticing lots of issues with them. They cut corners, are always late and leave before their allocated time. We are not happy at all.

At least if they were employed by a local authority, as they used to be and as they are in countries like Denmark, they would get a proper wage and benefits, have statutory training and would be properly overseen.

[Hidden in reply to Hellebelle]

Hi Hellebelle I use to go on to carers about cutting corners BUT given earning £4 or £1.90 each visit I can understand why.

So now I take my frustration out at agencies THIS no reason why pay such scaby money.

Even if paid propper wage could be lucrative business given volume AND no doubt CARE would greatly improve

Carers Sick & Disabled are being taken advantage off MIGHT be worth asking Quality Care Commission why they don’t look into employment contracts

It’s becouse if they did would be complicit AND easer to turn blind eye.

[Hidden]

Hi JeffAjaxSmith, You raise a very important point, and that's that vulnerable people needing care should have the best care possible, and always be treated with dignity, and that, if you want to achieve that, you have to treat those who care for them with dignity and appreciation too. A fair wage is a part of that and is the only thing which will raise standards in caring, rather than attracting only those who are desperate for a job.

[Hidden in reply to Hidden]

Hi Callendersgal could not agree more .. gov talk about saving for retirement and pension BUT how’s that work with this example LET alone pensions.

Gov talk lot of TOFF and need to experience life at sharp end ... my dad as two calls a dayley each call cost £345 a week yet today every day carers get paid £4 each or £1.90

Carers do a min of 30 calls a day.

Ad like to see mp do work they have to do for £4

Is shocking and disgrace JUST what is going on .. but what more shocking is these young old cares are being exploited taken advantage of.

As you can see care agencies can afford to pay propper wages given shear volume of calls they do.

[lell1]

Whoa there jeffajax!! Minimum wage is £3.90 for under 19 apprenticeships, and for those over 19 and in their 1st year of employment...each. So, employers must pay at least this amount per hour. 2 calls at £1.95 will cover this. If the call requires 2 people, it is unlikely that 2 apprentices will make that call. The other person, who is hopefully trained, will get their rate of pay, and the apprentice theirs. The tax allowance means that a fair few apprentices may not be getting taxed, and will have credits for national insurance contributions. So, that the legal side covered.

Employers will only be held responsible for paying at least the current minimum wage for apprentices. Their charges come from funding requirements of local authorities. So, the local authority pays the provider an agreed amount. There is nothing in law that prevents the private provider charging whatever they want and make a profit.

I certainly agree that the wage paid in care work is appalling, considering the amount of work they need to complete in the time allotted (community or care home). Maybe for this reason there are some less than suitable/appropriately skilled 'carers' out there? I do know some really good ones, but they are outnumbered! As the providers pay by the hour, they also charge by the hour. They are regularly inspected, which includes financial regulation. So, although it seems like slavery, it is possibly legal slavery? Most apprenticeships are for under 25s, and it is difficult to work alongside someone earning twice your salary for doing the same job...except that they usually are senior carers with the required qualifications (not that this makes them good carers!)