Articles

Survey Reveals Majority of Councils Think Care Workers are Underpaid

23/07/2014

A recent survey by the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services (ADASS) revealed that most councils think home care providers are not paying their workers within the national minimum wage level.

The survey conducted by ADASS received responses from 119 councils out of 152 tasked with taking charge of adult social care services. Many participating councils said they are not sure whether their commissioned providers pay care workers the minimum wage.

ADASS said below 5 per cent of councils are sure that their providers are paying workers minimum wages. Further, only about 5 per cent of councils believe providers are compensating their workers for travel time.

The UK has an estimated care worker population of about 2 million, of which only 1.2 million are registered.

Despite their numbers, care workers are considered to be among the lowest paid sector in the country. A report by the Low Pay Commission last 2010 showed that one out of ten care workers is receiving below minimum wage pay, with some workers even earning as low as £5 an hour.

Experts say that part of the reason why care workers are getting paid below the minimum wage is that most home care providers do not compensate them for travel time in between visits among different clients. It is well-known in the care industry that travel time accounts for a considerable chunk of a care worker’s day. Some providers, however, cite insufficient local authority funding as the reason why they are not paying workers for travel time.

ADASS recommend providers and councils to work hand in hand to deal with the issue of low care worker pay. ADASS said in its report that “Councils need to advise HMRC when they identify providers failing to meet these requirements so they can take prompt and effective action to deal with the offending providers.”