Carers ‘Underpaid’ for Travelling Time

Monday, 17th November 2014

According to Unison, Britain’s biggest trade union, the vast majority of England’s and Wales’ local authorities are not doing enough to ensure that home carers are receiving the national minimum wage. As many are not paid for the time it takes to travel between clients, even if carers do receive above the minimum hourly rate of £6.50 once their wage is spread across their whole shift, including unpaid travel time, they can be earning significantly less per hour than the law dictates. Only a handful of councils make it a contractual obligation that carers should be paid for travel time.

Some councils who do not so stipulate, have responded by claiming such clauses are not necessary as contracts make it clear carers must be paid the £6.50 rate. The UK Home Care Association declared that travel time should be accounted for but that, unless councils begin to increase what they are willing to pay for services, it will become more challenging for care providers to meet these terms.

Unison claim that up to 30% of a carer’s working day may be spent travelling between clients. One former carer, part of a group from Wigan who are claiming against their former employer for underpayment, described the situation as ‘scandalous.’