Private care companies routinely flout even basic employment protections because they think they are above the law, according to UNISON. The trade union has recently won eight cases against a care provider in the Gwent region where it was easy to establish the minimum wage was not being paid. Each care worker received compensation from the employer of up to £1,300. UNISON has criticised private care firms’ behaviour right across Wales as ‘rotten’ and appealed to home carers to raise complaints and contact the union.
UNISON contrasts the commitment carers show to their vulnerable clients on a daily basis with their employers who are more interested in extracting profits than investing in their workforce and client care. Whilst private care companies pay dividends to shareholders, their staff typically receive little or no payment for time spent travelling to clients or for waiting time between calls; no sick pay and only the minimum pension provision. Zero hours contracts are universal with employers demanding maximum availability of their carers, without any guarantee of work in return. Carers have reported to union representatives they live under constant fear that refusing to say you are available for any work despite already excessive hours, could mean your employer not allocating you work in future. UNISON has said it is not surprising that private care firms view trades unions with deep hostility.
UNISON’s Peter Short said,
“Across Wales carers at private companies face exploitation and in-work poverty. Their employers’ first thought is always to please shareholders first, not their staff or those receiving care.
“If carers were directly employed by the councils they would be more fairly paid. Yet, most local authorities are complicit in these abusive practices. They choose to look the other way because councils themselves are under severe financial pressure and they are focused on getting the job done as cheaply as possible not on standards of care. This has allowed the private care system to flourish.
“UNISON has recently won several cases for carers where employers were not paying the legal minimum wage. However, these private companies settle out of court and impose gagging clauses on staff to avoid the inevitable bad publicity and an avalanche of claims. We will pursue any claim raised until these bad practices are driven out of the system.”