General Discussion
The Way Local Private Care Companies Treat Staff
Can someone explain taking into consideration the lack of jobs locally, how privately owned care homes get away with abusing workers rights. They make staff sign contracts of employment that allow exemption from EU working time directive laws, union agreements and generally accepted overtime, holiday and sickpay schemes. They expect staff to work regular 14 hour shifts without the required paid breaks or overtime. Dont allow the legal rest period between shifts and often change staff rotas at short notice expecting mixed day and night working due to staff shortages. Dont pay overtime for weekends, nights and bank holidays. Dont offer to provide pensions, progression training, neglect notice periods, redundancy agreements and always expect to pay minimum wages and sometimes less if they can get away with it. In short they are disgraceful employers and need increased regulation.
That is absoluely disgraceful. It is almost slave labour, contravening the Human Rights Act. Is there any way that these employees can refuse to sign this contract? It might mean no job, but if they all did it, then the employers might have to change. These homes charge a fortune for residents, and I suspect that very little of this money goes to the carers, who are the most important people in the residents' day to day life.
I know of one that only pays staff extra on christmas day. Nothing for working a 12 hour shift on any other bank holiday through the year when the manager makes sure her and her "friends and family" wont be working. Also nothing is done when lazy staff decide they dont want to do anything and the manager looks the other way because its easier. Nepotism, favouritism and bullying is rife but as long as the conscientious and caring staff do the work all is fine with the manager and her friends and never mind if the care isnt what it should be!
It is because of this that care homes are closing, (nothing else) Staff shortages are rife. If you cannot get the staff to run these homes, they don't run on their own. I always remember the signs you sometimes see on the roads (TIREDNESS CAN KILL). How can carers work the long hours without a break?
Here's an example of a colleague's rostered shift. Start time 2.00pm, work through to service users decided bed time. Sleeping night with only one or two other staff present and none qualified to decision making management level so unlikely to manage a full nights undisturbed sleep. Wake up time at service users discresion as and when they want breakfast etc. Work straight through till 10.00pm. All this with no pre-determinded breaks for meals or a cuppa, minimum wage with no overtime or bonus paid. Plus the likelhood that they will ring wanting cover for sickness or absense before the statatory eleven hours off between shifts is completed. The system they operate under is a joke and they ought to be shut down.
@FredBassett, Expose this care home and let others know whether or not it would be a safe place if they had to go into one of these homes.
On the Inded Job Vacancy site there is local nursing home where they find it so hard to keep staff that evn the manager is leaving glowing reviews and getting the cook to do likewise! Cant say where it is but they have a nice sea view !
Greed on behalf of the management {owners}. You cannot possibly look after the kind of patient they have there with minimum staff. The staff are always under pressure and soon get tired of their job and leave, putting more pressure on those that remain. I would be interested to know what the turnover of staff is?