Social care workers carry out some of the most important work in society, caring for the sick, elderly and the disabled. Yet long-term problems within the sector have led to the work that carers do to become undervalued and increasingly challenging.
As well as the work being physically and emotionally demanding and often undertaken in unsocial hours, there is strong evidence of exploitation in the care sector. It is estimated that between 150,000 and 220,000 care workers across the country are paid less than the National Minimum Wage,[1] and 300,000 care workers are on zero-hours contracts, out of a total workforce of 700,000. This means that potentially 300,000 carers do not receive proper sick pay, are not entitled to paid holiday and may not have access to maternity pay.[2] In addition, over 41 per cent of care workers do not receive specialised training to help deal with their client’s specific medical needs, such as dementia and stroke-related conditions, and nearly a third receive no regular ongoing training.[3]
Care workers face enormous challenges, and do not receive the recognition that they deserve. I am keen to research how carers in my constituency of Erith and Thamesmead are tackling the problems that they are facing in the workplace, to explore how they are treated by their employers and to discover how they feel about the sector that they work in.
Are you a care worker? I want to hear from you. I want to hear your stories, your views, your opinions. Do you feel valued as a care worker by our society and by your employer? Are you paid enough for the work you do? Have you been provided with the necessary training to care for your clients?
If you are, or have been, employed in the care sector, I would love to hear from you. You can find the survey here.
Teresa Pearce MP
[1] Hussein (2011) ‘Estimating Probabilities and Numbers of Direct Care Workers Paid under the National Minimum Wage in the UK: A Bayesian Approach’, Social Care Workforce Periodical, December 2011
[2] Norman Lamb MP statement to the House of Commons
[3] UNISON (2012) Time to Care: a UNISON report into homecare, UNISON
Care Sector Survey 