To refuse to give this person a lift

[blackcatpurring]

I am a home carer. It's shit.

I'm working with someone who doesn't drive tonight. They have messaged me with this:

Hi, I'm working wifh you tonight. I don't drive so can you pick me up please? I live at 123 London Roa

AIBU to reply "no, make your own way to the first call."

I think part of the problem is that we are conditioned to think that being kind and caring equates with allowing ourselves to be treated badly in order to help someone.
It doesn't!

I think the responses on threads like this that demonstrate why caring professions are in such a piss takingly low paid state.

The minute a care worker speaks out about conditions they get shouted down and accused of being uncaring. The societal pressure is massive to just put up and shut up.

Surely the best solution is to create two pay grades of carer: driver and non driver, pay accordingly, reimburse the cost of using a vehicle and agree that the drivers working day starts when they pick up the colleague from the pre arranged pick up point.

Not going to happen if the poor buggers get shouted down every time.

OP, I totally get it and don’t blame you for feeling pissed off.

Assuming you and your colleague are both paid the same hourly rate, if you factor in your costs of buying and running a car and the extra travel time collecting and dropping her then you actually are earning much less. The travel allowance goes nowhere near reimbursing the difference and is actually to cover your petrol and wear and tear.

As a pp said, careers should be paid at differing rates depending on if they drive. If you were both drivers, you could choose to alternate days or weeks.

To make it even more fair a company car should be given to the driver. Then its the agencies responsibility for insurance, petrol (petrol card), MOT and tax. She asked for a lift tell her no, end of issue. A poster above is offering flowers so I am now thinking she held a gun to your head.

I wouldn't do it.
I couldn't care less what others thought either.

Op did the phone thing happen too, or was it just an example?

Not your problem, and the abrupt message isn't going to help her case. But

why the actual FUCK did you apply for a driving job when you can't drive, you stupid piece of shit?

you do sound a bit aggressive. I sort of wouldn't like to be in a car with you, tbh...

Sounds like you know you don’t want to pick the person up which is your choice and I do understand it would be annoying. You are not obligated so don’t worry. Just be honest. I would just send a simple reply to say sorry I won’t be able to pick you up or drop you home as it’s the wrong direction for me. Happy to drive you between visits though if you don’t have your own transport planned. See you there at xxx

When I was working downtown, the company would require everyone to fill out paperwork to share rides downtown and turn them in to a ride sharing organization. Everyone would be matched up. I wrote at the bottom of my paperwork that I pray on my way to work and home and wouldn't be offering anyone rides. It worked perfect.

What's the point in your AIBU when ur adamant u don't wanna give the other carer a lift she asked, u said no. Why moan? Secondly, at least she applied for a fucking job!! It might be "shit", but at least ur getting paid for it! There are plenty of carers who don't get a penny in pay or holiday breaks!!! Get a life

Blackcat you can definitely get out of giving anyone a lift at work by checking your car insurance as most insurance when covering you for business use do not cover you to carry passengers. A carer I worked with found this out the hard way when she had an accident whilst working.
Just tell your work you are not insured to carry passengers whilst at work, they cannot make you and cannot force you to invalidate your insurance, they will not pay for you or your car if you have an accident.
It really isn't your problem if they keep employing non drivers, I've worked in care for years and my company has always refused to employ non drivers as we cover a very rural area with barely any decent public transport.

Can completely see your POV. It would drive me nuts too. Sadly I think its par for the course in the caring profession. Are you looking at alternative jobs ?

Can tou say to the other person: ok but I charge x for the time it takes to go out of my way and then come back to where I started off and then the milage. Also say you'd like to go half on petrol in between the calls.

Get a grip Danica, I’m a career for a family member too but I still think the OP is perfectly entitled to not want to chase after a colleague at the each end of the day.

Carer, not career.

Best of luck in your interview OP. You anbu!

Did she reply OP?

I'm totally with you btw. Some of these replies are clear examples of why people get walked all over. The fact she doesn't drive is absolutely not your bloody problem!

Very sad to see the callousness of some posters who have no idea of the reality of life as a care worker.
Effectively, they end up paid below minimum wage especially if they are asked to detour on their way to pick up other colleagues. If work wants you to collect your colleague, then they should start the clock when you do!

Hang in their OP and good luck for your interview.

Lol IncyWincy 😂 Don't put words in my mouth! As if I said op has to chase after her colleague overeating much?

*overreacting

Been there done that, complete piss take by the agencies.

Sitting around for ages between calls most days, not long enough to go home but not paid either. Trying to squeeze x amount of calls into an hour when Mr A and Mrs C and Mr D were all at other ends of the town!

Oh and the 'can you pick X up at so and sos on the way...' I used to give a lift home to one girl, felt sorry for her as she was lovely but walked everywhere and we often finished late in the evening. But it was out of my way and I never got a penny extra for doing it. It wasnt in our contracts they would just phone you up and say X is doing Y job with you tonight can you pick them up/drop them home? What are you going to say? "No they can walk home in the dark at 10pm?"

You had to claim the milage on your tax form the agencies dont pay you it and only verify the milage to and from actual clients, not picking up and dropping off their staff!

Happy we didnt have to 'meet up to discuss clients' before going to the house, we knew what the client needed and got on with it. We were briefed on new clients before we went. We didnt have time for 'meetings' before we went into the house.

And dont even mention the dirty old men who only wanted the 'young girls' to go to their houses! Or the clients who talked to you like thier personal skivvies and like you didnt have 2 brain cells to rub together because you were only a carer! I put one or two of them right on that matter

I do remember a few of the clients fondly though. Pity everything else made it a crap job regards time and money.

In view of the horrific comments and attitude of a so-called 'carer' on here I would urge everyone who has a loved one needing home care to vet the person/people concerned very carefully.

This is far more than just annoyance about a colleague requesting a lift.

Get over yourself, if carers were actually valued as much by the agencies as they are by the majority of people they look after we wouldnt even be reading this thread. Carers are treated like crap and expected to just suck it up as we actually care about the people who use the service and often do much more than expected of us, unlike the big businesses who run it. All they are interested in is the £££.

Danica
Its not OPs responsibility to get someone else to their work for free.

Of course not. I never said it is! she obviously feels strongly against the idea of giving a lift (fair enough). No one's holding a gun to her head tho

Are you going to come back and tell us what you said to her?