Just recently there has been a lot in the news about poor care. Whilst I abhor what has gone on, I am equally disgusted with the way some carers are treated by their companies. I recently spoke to two different carers who work for two different companies and was astonished to find that they are not paid for any time that they take to travel between calls. They are expected to either cut short one call to reach the next or use their own time if they take too long at the call. This effectively means that vulnerable people are being rushed by a carer who is constantly looking to leave after 6 minutes because that constitutes 15 minutes care; This in itself must create stress to the service users and the carer resulting in fraught situations where someone is taking longer than expected; worst case scenario this could lead to abuse. The alternative is that the more conscientious carers work for five hours and get paid for four. At rate of £7.20 an hour that sounds like it takes it below the minimum wage. Is it any wonder we are hearing stories of poor care when the carers are treated in such a way.
On a note about zero hours contracts being outlawed the companies are getting round it by offering a 7 hour contract over a week.
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