So they wonder why they have trouble getting staff?
Discussion
SWMBO was looking into get some part time work now our little one goes to nursery four mornings a week and I work from home intermittantly and I am home every weekend. As she is a qualified nurse it made sense to look at nursing on bank with either a care home or domaciliary/home care.
The first local company whe was in contact with said up front they were having trouble recruiting for home care workers. When we managed to wean all the facts of the job from them we realised why....
A) Wage was 6.60/hr. and only paid while you are at the patients home (the travel from one patient to another is not included as working time). Qualifications made no difference to the starting wage.
B) You have to provide your own car and insure both for business use and to transport clients to the shops/hospital etc....at your cost. Hire or reward insurance!!*&^ They don't have pool vehicles.
C) Milage rate covers your fuel at 25p a mile but no info on how they calculate it.
So the 10p above minimum wage actually isn't? Insuring your car to transport patients for jollies and hospital visits could be a minefield and won't be cheap...but after all they are paying 'inflated wages' to cover it?
Anyone else has experiences of this half a$%e industry?
The first local company whe was in contact with said up front they were having trouble recruiting for home care workers. When we managed to wean all the facts of the job from them we realised why....
A) Wage was 6.60/hr. and only paid while you are at the patients home (the travel from one patient to another is not included as working time). Qualifications made no difference to the starting wage.
B) You have to provide your own car and insure both for business use and to transport clients to the shops/hospital etc....at your cost. Hire or reward insurance!!*&^ They don't have pool vehicles.
C) Milage rate covers your fuel at 25p a mile but no info on how they calculate it.
So the 10p above minimum wage actually isn't? Insuring your car to transport patients for jollies and hospital visits could be a minefield and won't be cheap...but after all they are paying 'inflated wages' to cover it?
Anyone else has experiences of this half a$%e industry?
Agreed, home care workers must be the worst paid for the work of any job.
I think several reports have basically concluded it doesn't work as a job on any level, since you have maybe 15 minutes tops for each visit. But of course if the person you are caring for needs say a bath, or a meal or worse .. then what are you supposed to do, abandon them half way through ?
It appears to be impossible to do the work well, and at the end of it you get an absolute pittance.
If ever a group of workers needed a union (words I never thought I would say) then it is these guys
randlemarcus said:
Why on earth would a qualified Nurse be looking to be a care worker?
Care workers are the ones left over after McDonalds have assessed them as educationally inadequate. Or it's a vocation, obviously.
Hospitals are miles from here and there are loads of shufflers locally? Demand and supply...or so we thought.Care workers are the ones left over after McDonalds have assessed them as educationally inadequate. Or it's a vocation, obviously.
randlemarcus said:
Why on earth would a qualified Nurse be looking to be a care worker?
Care workers are the ones left over after McDonalds have assessed them as educationally inadequate. Or it's a vocation, obviously.
ThisCare workers are the ones left over after McDonalds have assessed them as educationally inadequate. Or it's a vocation, obviously.
Many people get confused when they hear care worker.
They wear an nhs style uniform and latex gloves but should never be mistaken for anything like a nurse.
You can become a care worker straight out a year of mixed college courses.
randlemarcus said:
Why on earth would a qualified Nurse be looking to be a care worker?
Care workers are the ones left over after McDonalds have assessed them as educationally inadequate. Or it's a vocation, obviously.
Nice to know what I do is so well thought of on here Care workers are the ones left over after McDonalds have assessed them as educationally inadequate. Or it's a vocation, obviously.
Tbh every Domiciliary Job is like that, I left my last one because they wouldn't even pay mileage, I was out working 70 odd hours a week but only getting paid for at most 36ish, minus fuel, extra insurance and the extra wear on my bike.
Rotary Madness said:
Nice to know what I do is so well thought of on here
Tbh every Domiciliary Job is like that, I left my last one because they wouldn't even pay mileage, I was out working 70 odd hours a week but only getting paid for at most 36ish, minus fuel, extra insurance and the extra wear on my bike.
You transport the patients on your bike? That must have been an experience for them.Tbh every Domiciliary Job is like that, I left my last one because they wouldn't even pay mileage, I was out working 70 odd hours a week but only getting paid for at most 36ish, minus fuel, extra insurance and the extra wear on my bike.
It might be worth trying somewhere like this http://www.hah.co.uk/careers
They take speculative applications if they're not advertising locally to you.
They take speculative applications if they're not advertising locally to you.
A friends wife is a care assistant. She may not be a qualified nurse but she has to bathe and toilet old people. She is often the person who finds them dead in their rooms/flats/houses. She works horrible shifts and gets only one in three or four Christmas's off. In short she is getting a really bum deal, that's the norm for her industry.
I do think it's a vocation rather than a job or career and the employers know and take full advantage of this. She could never let her clients down so takes all the s
t she gets for awful wages.
I do think it's a vocation rather than a job or career and the employers know and take full advantage of this. She could never let her clients down so takes all the s
t she gets for awful wages.crossy67 said:
A friends wife is a care assistant. She may not be a qualified nurse but she has to bathe and toilet old people.
That's not done by nurses even in hospital now - Health Care Assistants (HCAs) do it.crossy67 said:
She works horrible shifts and gets only one in three or four Christmas's off. In short she is getting a really bum deal, that's the norm for her industry.
If she didn't go at Christmas, who would?These used to be reasonably decent jobs when they all worked for the local council. But people don't want to pay for the public sector with its "gold plated pensions" etc.
randlemarcus said:
Why on earth would a qualified Nurse be looking to be a care worker?
Care workers are the ones left over after McDonalds have assessed them as educationally inadequate. Or it's a vocation, obviously.
Who do you think will be looking after your parents when they go into a home, yep those very same McDonalds rejects on min wage.Care workers are the ones left over after McDonalds have assessed them as educationally inadequate. Or it's a vocation, obviously.
Johnnytheboy said:
I'm a strong believer in letting the market determine salaries.
If an organisation is struggling to recruit staff, they should be getting a message from this.
They just employ foreign staff, who gives a fIf an organisation is struggling to recruit staff, they should be getting a message from this.
k if the old person is confused that a foreign person who they can't understand has come to wash/dress them.My wife did care work when she was looking for work that would fit around the kids. It was exactly as you describe, and when you take into account the unpaid travel, the loss you make on every mile you drive, its very much below minimum wage. She lasted about a month.
One thing you missed it they will often dictate how long a task takes. So you will get a job to say wash dress and prepare breakfast for someone. They say its a 30 minute job, so you will be paid about 3. For that 3 you have to drive there, pay for the parking (unexpensed), do the job (no matter how long it takes) and then hope you have another job to drive to afterwards. If not you head home. You can easily spend 2 hours earning that 3 minus expenses.
I'm amazed its not changed.
One thing you missed it they will often dictate how long a task takes. So you will get a job to say wash dress and prepare breakfast for someone. They say its a 30 minute job, so you will be paid about 3. For that 3 you have to drive there, pay for the parking (unexpensed), do the job (no matter how long it takes) and then hope you have another job to drive to afterwards. If not you head home. You can easily spend 2 hours earning that 3 minus expenses.
I'm amazed its not changed.
Edited by 98elise on Saturday 24th May 14:13
crossy67 said:
A friends wife is a care assistant. She may not be a qualified nurse but she has to bathe and toilet old people. She is often the person who finds them dead in their rooms/flats/houses. She works horrible shifts and gets only one in three or four Christmas's off. In short she is getting a really bum deal, that's the norm for her industry.
I do think it's a vocation rather than a job or career and the employers know and take full advantage of this. She could never let her clients down so takes all the st she gets for awful wages.
Spot on, where i deliver the post you see some care workers on there day off still going for a cup of tea at there oldies, fair play to them.I do think it's a vocation rather than a job or career and the employers know and take full advantage of this. She could never let her clients down so takes all the s
t she gets for awful wages.dave_s13 said:
Is your wife in a position to retrain to do something else? Similar client group but getting a podiatry degree might be an option.
After completing the first year you can work as a foot care assistant. This could be done privately or with the NHS.
She'd get a lot more than that delivering post and still be done by 3ish.After completing the first year you can work as a foot care assistant. This could be done privately or with the NHS.
Mrs C did this for a few months, as a job it's as st as the OP describes, as is the provision for the clients.
I would think long and hard about ever employing one of these 'care' providors to look after any of my own family should the need arise.
I am rather right wing, and very much believe in the free market etc etc, but this recent experience the mrs had, and recalling the treatment of my grandfather in a private 'care' home makes me furious.
t as the OP describes, as is the provision for the clients. I would think long and hard about ever employing one of these 'care' providors to look after any of my own family should the need arise.
I am rather right wing, and very much believe in the free market etc etc, but this recent experience the mrs had, and recalling the treatment of my grandfather in a private 'care' home makes me furious.
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