‘The community demands the highest standards from care workers but doesn’t demand they be paid fairly’

• IT was reported in the press last week that the UK is short of carers, up to 11 per cent, and substantially more in London.

Of course, this could be rectified easily if the poor pay levels were significantly increased.

My friend works in a care home in Camden. She loves her job and thinks the company she works for is a good employer in terms of the care sector.

She is paid the London living wage of £10.85 an hour. Some care sector employers pay only the national minimum wage which is £8.91 per hour.

She is a mature, well qualified carer with many years experience. There is no recognition of this in her pay.

Everyone but the small management team are on the same pay rate from complete beginner to very experienced.

Other conditions of service she has to contend with include:

• Shifts that are either early morning starts or very late evening finishes. No pay premium for this –very different from nine-to-five working.

• Working at least two weekends a month, sometimes more. No pay premium for this.

• Work rotas that are often given a day before the week that has to be worked. This makes it difficult to plan a family or social life. It is difficult to make appointments, book rail tickets, just arrange to meet friends, attend a class or a show.

My friend books a day’s leave to attend a dentist appointment or the hairdresser because requests for particular days off are not welcomed and sometimes ignored. Why not plan for a month or two months in advance?

• Frequent demands to do updating courses online.

For this poor pay and conditions she has to show great responsibility, skill and care for the residents with warmth and compassion.

This is what the community wants for loved ones and this is what my friend and her colleagues are happy to provide. Surely employers can provide much better for the carers.

My friend was dismayed to see that even the Labour Party dismissed out of hand a £15 an hour pay rate for carers when it was proposed at the last annual conference. They didn’t even consider working towards it.

The community demands the highest standards from care workers but doesn’t demand they be paid fairly.

These people will be paying increased National Insurance and all the price hikes that are planned across the board, from increased rents to increased transport costs.

A substantial pay increase and improved conditions of service would make the care sector a much more inviting work place.

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