What an absolute joke. Is it like this elsewhere in the developed world?
unionise and demand better. It is beyond ridiculous what is being asked from care workers.
Care is always some of the lowest paid work, also has some related bullsh!t pay theft rules like not getting paid for sleep in shifts
My wife is a care worker, reduced shifts now she doesn’t need to earn as much, but it’s crazy how little she gets paid considering all the training and qualifications you need. She only does it as she does sleeps, so getting paid for sleeping. There’s talk of eliminating that though, which if happens she will be quitting immediately.
It’s devastating to hear this. No one who has that responsibility of taking care of another human being should be subjected to such a low wage. Hope it changes for them in the UK just so sad. I know we have nursing shortages here.
Care homes have little incentive to pay more. The job is crap and the turnover is insane, however they know people can be replaced in less than a day and that they can exploit cheap labour from immigrants new to the UK if needs be. We do not care about social care enough for the owners to feel any pressure to do better.
Let’s not pretend like most care work is any harder than retail. Why would they be on considerably more? Care work doesn’t require any more qualifications than retail to start out.
Before I became a nurse, I used to work in a care home for autistic adults. Horrendous pay, and horrendous working conditions. The residents were treated as just a financial means for management, and they belonged in facilities much more secure. Think I was paid £7.50 ph in 2012, and my pay remained the same for years after too.
Carers need much better pay, and there needs to be a better incentive to join.
The UK is a failed society.
Demonstrates how society’s values are completely fucked. What a shithole.
Yup. Ex-support worker, was paid around 50p over minimum wage for holding an NVQ3 in health and social care, and later 75p more for doing control and restraint training (totally danger money).
My mum dabbled as a care worker for a few years. She went back to cleaning because it paid more and was less soul-destroying.
I wonder why nobody writes about some care workers being forced by agencies to use certain umbrella companies which they don’t actually pay tax on worker’s behalf and run away with money and then HMRC instead of going after the agency and umbrella claw the money from the worker? This means already poorly paid workers are essentially double taxed and effectively work below minimum wage?
Tory government sees that there is no problem and don’t want to regulate this.
My friend lost £15k that way and she has no recourse.
Sounds like an industry that really could do with unionising. I know my pay is also worse than working at Aldi but at least it is easy and I sit on my arse all day.
Care homes are run for profit and have lots of poor standards In an industry
Till we start treating are elderly and disabled better. I think wages will stay the same.
I used to work in a care home at 9.50 an hour doing 12 hour night shifts and my wife works as a general assistant at tesco for an extra pound an hour
Absolutely disgusting. Carers are quite often subjected to long hours, intensive labour, and sometimes even verbal assault and humiliation from patients or residents – sometimes even racism or misogyny (maybe even both).
The fact that they get paid crap reflects on how their job is viewed and it really needs to fucking change.
17 comments
What an absolute joke. Is it like this elsewhere in the developed world?
unionise and demand better. It is beyond ridiculous what is being asked from care workers.
Care is always some of the lowest paid work, also has some related bullsh!t pay theft rules like not getting paid for sleep in shifts
My wife is a care worker, reduced shifts now she doesn’t need to earn as much, but it’s crazy how little she gets paid considering all the training and qualifications you need. She only does it as she does sleeps, so getting paid for sleeping. There’s talk of eliminating that though, which if happens she will be quitting immediately.
It’s devastating to hear this. No one who has that responsibility of taking care of another human being should be subjected to such a low wage. Hope it changes for them in the UK just so sad. I know we have nursing shortages here.
Care homes have little incentive to pay more. The job is crap and the turnover is insane, however they know people can be replaced in less than a day and that they can exploit cheap labour from immigrants new to the UK if needs be. We do not care about social care enough for the owners to feel any pressure to do better.
Let’s not pretend like most care work is any harder than retail. Why would they be on considerably more? Care work doesn’t require any more qualifications than retail to start out.
Before I became a nurse, I used to work in a care home for autistic adults. Horrendous pay, and horrendous working conditions. The residents were treated as just a financial means for management, and they belonged in facilities much more secure. Think I was paid £7.50 ph in 2012, and my pay remained the same for years after too.
Carers need much better pay, and there needs to be a better incentive to join.
The UK is a failed society.
Demonstrates how society’s values are completely fucked. What a shithole.
Yup. Ex-support worker, was paid around 50p over minimum wage for holding an NVQ3 in health and social care, and later 75p more for doing control and restraint training (totally danger money).
My mum dabbled as a care worker for a few years. She went back to cleaning because it paid more and was less soul-destroying.
I wonder why nobody writes about some care workers being forced by agencies to use certain umbrella companies which they don’t actually pay tax on worker’s behalf and run away with money and then HMRC instead of going after the agency and umbrella claw the money from the worker? This means already poorly paid workers are essentially double taxed and effectively work below minimum wage?
Tory government sees that there is no problem and don’t want to regulate this.
My friend lost £15k that way and she has no recourse.
Sounds like an industry that really could do with unionising. I know my pay is also worse than working at Aldi but at least it is easy and I sit on my arse all day.
Care homes are run for profit and have lots of poor standards In an industry
Till we start treating are elderly and disabled better. I think wages will stay the same.
I used to work in a care home at 9.50 an hour doing 12 hour night shifts and my wife works as a general assistant at tesco for an extra pound an hour
Absolutely disgusting. Carers are quite often subjected to long hours, intensive labour, and sometimes even verbal assault and humiliation from patients or residents – sometimes even racism or misogyny (maybe even both).
The fact that they get paid crap reflects on how their job is viewed and it really needs to fucking change.