Most home care workers on zero-hours contracts, study finds

1 Dec 14
Over half of all home care workers are on zero-hour contracts, and as many as 220,000 could be paid less than the National Minimum Wage, a study has found.

By Richard Johnstone | 2 December 2014

Over half of all home care workers are on zero-hour contracts, and as many as 220,000 could be paid less than the National Minimum Wage, a study has found.

The report by former care minister Paul Burstow for the Local Government Information Unit and the Mears care group found that home care was heading for a crisis, with the current system not working for either service users, councils or staff.

The Burstow Commission report, which also included local authority and care experts, found that 60% of workers were on zero-hour contracts.

Such poor employment practices were leading to poor quality care, due to a 20% staff turnover ratio – more than twice the national average.

Burstow said action was now needed to improve the prestige of home care workers. Recommendations include ensuring they are paid the Living Wage for full contract hours, including travel time, while staff should also be eligible for key worker status in housing. A training and career pathway for the sector should be created alongside licensing scheme to increase professionalism.

Burstow said the current funding squeeze on local authorities meant that there was a danger that good providers could be driven out amid the need for councils to cut costs.

‘The price of poor care is paid for by the most frail and vulnerable in our community, and by the care workers they rely on who get a raw deal,’ he said.

‘We must make care work a career of esteem, where a living wage is paid, staff are trained and recognised as valued key workers who contribute a huge amount to society. This will inevitably come at a price, but the cost of doing nothing will be even greater.’

LGIU chief executive Jonathan Carr-West said that if the home care sector was not in crisis yet, it soon would be.

‘More people need care and there is less money to pay for it and not enough people willing to do the work. It is not organised nearly as well as it could be and it appears designed to keep caring professional relationships from forming between workers and those they care for.

‘We are probably lucky there hasn’t been a major home care scandal yet. If things don’t change, it may only be a matter of time. This commission was formed with a sense of that urgency and a need to change.’

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