To wonder if being a home carer is one of the worst jobs

[Idonotneedagarden]

And yet so important, yet they are paid less than minimum wage.

I’m certainly not talking out of my arse, and I think you are being deliberately provocative.

By speaking facts? Ok dear.

Certainly feels like you are. I don’t know how much you think you know about my job but none of those things you’ve listed should come as any surprise to you or anyone who applies for a job in care. Bodily functions are kind of in the job description.

I’d rather work all hours out in the community than one day in a care home.

I have been out since 7 this morning which is a late start. I had a break of an hour between 10 and 11 back out for lunch runs rhen two hours between 1 and 3 then back for tea time calls and I finished them about forty minutes ago and I am waiting to start my beds. I will get home about 10.

I am not talking out of my arse.

I am exhausted. It isn’t even my ‘normal’ job. But it would be nice if I could have a vent about it without being told I am talking out of my arse when I’m not.

Oh, fuck it.

Lots of agencies pay well above minimum wage, mileage etc. There's too much competition for reliable care staff for agencies to become complacent.

What exactly is the point in this thread, anyway? To rile up carers by insinuating that you pity us, to be a GF or because you genuinely want to kickstart some sort of change in carers’ working conditions?

Caring isn't for everyone. It's clearly not the job for you.

Oh, so you are a carer?

If it’s ‘one of the worst jobs’, why the fuck do you do it? You should see it as a privilege to care for people, not a fucking chore!

If you're being paid £7.90 per hour I genuinely would recommend you have a look at what else is available in your area. You really shouldn't have to work for a pittance for all you do. Not patronising you, I work in the care sector myself.

I have carers coming in four times a day to hoist Dad from bed to chair and back again. They're from an agency via the council. Some of them should be paid one hell of a lot more than they get - the best ones use their initiative, are chatty and friendly, know their jobs and are worth their weight in gold. Then there's the others who are clueless, often don't turn up for their shifts, make mistakes and can barely communicate. There doesn't seem to be a middle ground.

I'm a 24/7 carer for my father (aided by the carers' visits) and I can't claim carer's allowance 'cos I'm 'officially' resident in another country, but stay with Dad to look after him. If I were to change my official residence (makes me sound like the Queen!) to here, then Dad - who has dementia and is therefore exempt from paying council tax - would become liable to pay it again, which would wipe out the carer's allowance I'd then be entitled to.

The care agencies are the ones who benefit from the charges (around £22 an hour, per carer, in this area), and I really think that's wrong - the bulk of the money should go to the carers themselves - and then the profession might attract more competent people. The carer's allowance is rubbish - less than JSA - and yet there are so many of us unpaid carers, doing the job for family because we love them - it's disgraceful really - but we don't seem to have a political voice (I certainly don't as am not entitled to a vote, as I've been out of the UK -officially, anyway - for more than 15 years), and so it's unlikely the situation will change in the near future.

I always feel better after a small rant on the subject - thanks for the opportunity! :D

It's really not the worst job if you work for the right company.

I did it for a year, awful job, 1/2hr to whack a ready meal in a microwave, change the nappy of an obese adult with learning difficulties with insufficient equipment and then cover their tablet in whatever crap they wanted to shovel in their face for the 6 hours til the next visit.

Honestly was so little like ‘caring’ and it was less than minimum wage when you factored in travel time.

I would end up working between 6am and 10pm and only get paid for 10 hours. Was not good

Idonotneedagarden I think it's fair to say being a home carer is not the job for you, at least not with your current employer!

I agree it's hard work and the pay could definately be better but I can't imagine doing a different job, and would struggle to find one more fulfilling. I'm lucky, my agency doesn't accept 15 mins calls and pays travel time. They are fully supportive of my caring role for family members and I've happily worked there for over 5 years.

I support people to live (and spend their dying days) at home, in a way that suits them and treats them as an individual. Sometimes we are the only regular visitor they get and I help them access medical help, community events and assessments when equipment/more help is needed.

They talk to me about their worries and fears, they know what us happening in my life and we share laughter and tears. I comfort their family after they die and attend their funerals. It's more than a job, it's a vocation but it doesn't suit everyone.

YANBU

@CantankerousCamel I’m honestly so glad you no longer work in care with a disgusting attitude like that.

I can think of worse jobs.
Car park attendant. Banker. Anything where you don't speak to people all day or do something you don't believe in.

Captaincabinets.... quite right. I agree, why do a job that you resent doing?

I was a community carer for 22 years, until last November. I worked for lots of agencies, all at minimum wage. I worked some double shifts like the person posting has. I also CHOSE my hours, so usually did 6.30am - 1.30pm, without a break. I loved the job, the people, even the duties - but the agencies charge the clients a lot and they made a lot of money from that.

A lot of people become carers because:
it's classed as unskilled (wrongly, I believe)
needs no previous experience (also wrong)
they lack the qualifications/intelligence to do anything much else. (harsh but true)

It can be a very rewarding job, but hard work at times, and sometimes challenging. I loved it.

Carers are very much undervalued. Hugely.

However, the issue is how much the councils allocate to social care . Why do councils outsource to private agencies? Because they can't afford to have carers on council employment contracts with the public sector conditions (enhanced overtime rates, holidays, sick pay etc).

One area I'm aware of the agency rate from the council is £12.20 per hour. The care worker will be paid 8.90. The agency has to cover NIC, holiday pay and potential maternity , parental leave etc. The cost of the care to be delivered from a council care worker is £36 per hour. My point isn't that this is too much, my point is that these savings are being made at the cost of employment rights.

Care work is mostly carried out by women, who choose it because (in the main) it offers flexible employment that will fit around other responsibilities. It's an easy group to exploit - and exploit it we do.

Not all Care is paid poorly.
8 yrs ago I worked for a care agency, mix of care/nursing/psych homes and home care and I was paid £9hr, £12 at weekends and £18 an hr on bank hols....that was 8 yrs ago!

Home care can be piss poor when you have to do 15min calls, I mean really what can be achieved in that time period?! Next to nothing, I was lucky my calls were 30/45/60 min calls so would cook tea, toilet, dress for bed etc with sufficient time, the downside was they never would leave you sufficient time to travel between calls so would always run a little behind.

I don't think the OP is talking rubbish. Some care workers are lucky enough to work for good agencies which pay above minimum wage and allow enough time to do the work and get job satisfaction by spending time with the people they support

But there are lots who don't - they pay minimum wage, don't pay travel time, have nightmare split shifts with not enough time to get home, short visits of 15 mins, no support - and lots more.

It's one of the poorest paying jobs and yet it has a lot of responsibility and is physically and emotionally draining and of course almost entirely employs women. If it employed mostly men you can bet the working conditions would be better

I'm a home carer, I don't work for an agency, I work with a small team of other people. I get paid well for my job compared to a lot of other options I looked at, I love my job, don't worry about us OP, we're fine.

Much like furrydogmother we have had some bloody brilliant carers who deserve to be paid so much more. Especially the young man who chats and sings with my grandfather whilst providing his care with integrity and compassion.

However I have also seen the other side,the ones who only stay 15 minutes out of a 60 minute slot,ones who refuse to allow my disabled grandfather to use the commode before putting him to bed. The ones who don't speak to my grandfather or when they do they are rude and aggressive.

If you don't like the job for whatever reason then get the hell out.

My mum has had a badly infected knee joint (she ended up in hospital for 7 weeks) and this has severely reduced her mobility, so my sister found a carer who could come in for an hour every week day, to help mum. I don’t know what this lady is being paid, but I do know how much of a difference she hasn’t made to mum’s life - she will do almost anything, from personal care to cleaning and shopping and even helps mum in the garden. She is down to three days a week now, but it still makes such a difference to mum.

Mum is lucky - she gets a carer’s allowance that covers the cost of this lady coming in three days a week - and she is there for a whole hour, which means she can do so much more than if she were just there for 15 minutes. It certainly sounds as if this carer enjoys her work, and has job satisfaction - I hope she is getting paid what she deserves too.

If mum hadn’t had this care, it would have been much harder for her to regain the independence she has got back. It has been utterly invaluable.

I've been on the carer side in the past for a stint when I was doing a p/t college course, it was damn hard.

For the last number of years since my health and body failed me, I now am on the other side as a caree and I rely on fantastic pairs of girls who come into my home 4 times a day and when needed, help me change, wash, change bed and me, help me to commode, take in the post or deliveries, stick a wash on/dryer load, feed cat if I physically can't, chat and make me feel like a human being, they will make simple food (something on toast), stuff to bins, microwave meal and more. They go non stop.

I'm in NI. The average care call in my area is maximum 30 mins but most people like myself get 15 mins calls, my times are 20 / 15 / 15 / 20 that's breakfast, lunch, tea and bed which is counted as 1h 50m a day as all my calls are double-handed.

Full respect to carers