South Lanarkshire home care staff face wage cuts

Feb 11 2010

VITAL home carers fear they could face huge wage cuts following an announcement that their private care company intends to change their contracts.

Choices – Care at Home, who took over from Domiciliary Care Scotland just before the BBC screened an expose of the latter’s shocking failures in home care services for the elderly last year – have notified more than 300 home care workers, including many in South Lanarkshire, that they plan to introduce a “zero hours” contract.

The home helps, who currently earn just 5p above the national minimum wage of £5.80 an hour, fear the new contract means they will have no guarantee of how many hours each week they will be given work – and consequently no guarantees of how much they will earn.

For most of them that would be devastating.

It is understood the home carers, who provide a lifeline to many elderly and infirm people in our communities, received letters in which Choices’ assistant director of operations Fiona Ford told them the change of conditions was due to company difficulties and them not being given enough work by local authorities.

The home helps were shocked at the news and many have contacted the public services trade union Unison for advice.

Unison are now demanding a meeting with the bosses of Choices to discuss the situation.

Speaking about the new ‘zero hours’ contracts, Stephen Smellie, secretary of Unison in South Lanarkshire, said this week: “This is an atrocious way to treat a group of dedicated, low-paid workers who deliver essential services to elderly and disabled people living at home.

“There has been no consultation with anyone over this. Neither staff, the union, certainly not service users and not South Lanarkshire Council, were consulted. The company should change their name to NO Choices Care at Home.”

Mr Smellie added that Unison are urging home carers to join the union to fight the company over the contract change.

But Colin Crichton, director of operations for Choices – which a Care Commission report cites as one of the best care companies in the private sector – said this week: "We are surprised by Unison’s criticism. They have misunderstood the situation.

“All Choices care contracts with local councils are based on actual care hours delivered.

“Moving to a zero hours contract for all our staff is in line with most providers in the sector.

“The new contracts will offer an increased hourly rate, additional payments and benefits. Many of our staff have already taken up the new contract.”

It is understood the new contracts offer workers wages around £6.15 per hour – but no guarantee on hours offered.

Many of the home carers think despite the higher hourly rate offered they could still be worse off.

None of them would talk directly for fear of reprisal.

But through Mr Smellie they expressed serious concerns that some of them at least could face substantial cuts in their hours and that they could find themselves dependent on the “goodwill” of their managers. For example, if their managers took a dislike to them they could find themselves with little or no work offered – and consequently no wages.

The union official said home carers, like workers in any industry, had to know how much they would be earning on a week-to-week, month-to-month basis so they could plan ahead for themselves and their families.

Because of the low wages paid, many home care workers are in receipt of social security benefits such as Family Tax Credits and fluctuating wages could have a serious affect on their weekly income and their ability to pay their bills.

Last year South Lanarkshire hit the headlines when the BBC’s Panorama programme revealed a catalogue of disturbing incidents their reporter had discovered while working undercover at Domiciliary Care (Scotland).

The company had won a South Lanarkshire Council contract in 2008 to provide care for around 400 elderly residents in three areas of South Lanarkshire, including East Kilbride.

Concerns were raised over the award as the tendering process included an on-line reverse auction where providers were encouraged to submit the lowest hourly rate for care. And the programme highlighted what they said were the consequences of this – poor wages and poor conditions which had led to a lack of staff and poorer services to service users.