Phrase Writers Group

I worked as a homecare worker for 13 months, leaving in May 2014.

This article was written in 2014, and reflects my experiences. Some things are different. Minimum wage was £6.31 per hour back then, and in 2020 is just over £8. And an end to exclusive employment contracts. But pay and conditions remain woeful for such a valuable contribution to society.

MY LIFE AS A CARE WORKER

A short story about care workers, people who look after other people in their own homes. Some of these are elderly, some have conditions such as motor neurone disease, amputations, dementia. Some live alone, others with their spouse or families.

These are my experiences.

Care workers visit their clients once or more each day, normally five or six days every week. Visits can be 15 minutes, but more often 30 or 45 minutes, an hour or more. Some clients require two care workers for their visits.

There are no bank holidays for care workers, no rest breaks, no time allocated for meals. Care workers work Zero Hour Contracts, no guarantee of any work at all, and a contract of employment that forbids work with other employers. Some negotiate an exception with the care agency.

Once upon a time, care workers were paid a salary by the local Council, as befits regular Council staff. And paid expenses for travel costs, use of phones. And as regular staff working 35 hours a week or whatever, they were paid for travel time.

No longer. There are 18,000 care agencies. Some work only for private clients who can afford their services. Many bid for Council Social services contracts, and it’s a race to the bottom -- value for money means paying people less.

Social services establish a contract package for a client; one or more visits a day of varying lengths, one or two care workers each visit, 1-7 days a week. Care agencies then bid for the contract. They have to bid for the entire contract, and cannot pick certain shifts or days. Cheapest bid may not always get the business; some clients are rejected by care agencies if they prove too awkward. And don’t jump to conclusions about this. It takes a lot to rile care workers.

So how much do Social services pay? Typically £13 per hour per care worker, pro rata for the contract. The care worker will see £6.31-6.50 per hour worked, again pro rata. The remainder is used to fund the office and its staff, pay supervisors, training, gloves, postage for weekly care worker rotas, etc.

This is the only money care workers get. Some get holiday pay. But no travel costs. London care workers will pay £20 a week for a bus pass, or a day’s pay. Nothing for travel time. You also need to take your time sheets to the office every week, in your own time and at your own expense.

No expenses, no overtime. If you spend less time with your client than the contract states, you are paid pro rata less. But if you spend more time, there is no overtime and you are paid the contract amount.

A mobile phone is essential, and during the training you are encouraged to call the office frequently with any concerns about the clients. Purchase and use of the phone is at your own expense.

When you join a care agency the initial week’s training is free, but you are not paid nor is your travel paid for. Paying for lunch is your responsibility. The training is useful, far too much to take in. There are continual assessments, but as the trainer tells you the answers, it is impossible to fail. And some care workers have dubious spoken or written english. We were not allowed to keep the training manual!

If you survive the training -- and many drop out -- you pay £50 for a Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) check or Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) as it is now. Theoretically the money is refunded if you stay a month, but it rarely is. CRBs used to cost £44 to apply for.

Then you shadow an experienced care worker for a week. You should be paid for this, but only if you are prepared to make a fuss.

You used to have to pay for your uniform, but now get it gratis.

If you drive your own car, you need to pay for business insurance, out of your own pocket. No travel expenses. No expenses of any kind.

Then you are given a rota for the week. The first day a supervisor will go round with you. Ian, the senior supervisor, was utterly brilliant, and both helpful and supportive during my time as a care worker.

Care workers often let themselves into clients’ homes using keys stored in boxes (“keysafes”) protected by a combination lock and outside the front doors. The weekly rotas do not state whether the call will involve another worker. With so-called double-up calls you need to wait outside till your colleague arrives. Nor does the rota state if a keysafe is in use. So another call to the office may be needed.

There is a huge turnover of care workers. Some quit after the first day. One lady never came back after having to clean a client’s bottom and smelly faeces, a routine process for home care. Many quit after experiencing the extremely long hours and equally low pay (effectively about £3-4 / hour when you include travel costs and travel time).

Many care workers are immigrants; eastern Europe, Africa, Asia. Some do it for pin money. Many are amazing. How do they survive? One, an Iranian Christian and former banker, supports his family by pawning his family jewels. He fought during the Iran-Iraq war, still has nightmares about it, and never wants any nation to ever go to war.

Others have extra jobs. A few work in a local garage doing 8 or 16 hours shifts. For minimum wage. No breaks. No discount on food and drinks. Any shortfall in tills or loss of merchandise comes out of their pay. Then they go straight to an 8 hour care worker shift.

During my time as a care worker I called an ambulance for two of my clients. While they were in hospital I wasn’t paid for the time I would spend with them. And there were no alternative clients for me to visit.

So how did I survive? Some generous people waiving bills, a few friends helping out, my mother helping out often. Contemplated suicide more than once.

Care working was one of the best jobs I have ever had. Met some amazing people, care workers and clients. Saw horrific abuse, as well as caring families.

The solution to this?

If certain companies paid their tax bills it would help pay proper living wages to care workers and many others.

But there is a finite amount of money available for Public services. For an end to minimum wage and zero hour contracts, those further up the food chain need to be paid less.

And I wonder how many of you concerned about care of the elderly, disabled, lonely, food bank users; how many of you would be prepared to be paid less?