Carers should be paid more money

[Vivana]

For what we do and what we have to deal with specially covid. Minimum wage is all I am on and have to run about for 12 hours with hardly no break.
I love the job and I'm lucky to have one but when dealing with residents who have covid it's so much more work and putting our health at risk. Wearing ppe all day is a nightmare including face visors. We also have to come on our days off for weekly covid testing as it's cumpolsary and now have to learn lateral Flow testing to residents can see there family's.
We should be paid much more than minimum wage. I probably am being unreasonable but I don't feel I am. The job is very rewarding but can be very sad and stressful to.

I found out my union has asked my. Company for a better pay and working conditions. The company's response was they were not sure of there budget due to covid.

If carers want better pay, then why not organise themselves, join a union for a start?

The Union is working for. Carers to get better pay and working conditions for us

@MaskingForIt

Most jobs are paid according to supply and demand. There is huge pool of people who can work as carers, and as such the wages are very low.

What qualifications and skills do you have? Could you look to move into a better paid line of healthcare?

there is a huge pool of people who can work as carers

I disagree. The staff turn over rate where I work is appalling because people come into the job expecting it to be a certain way then soon realise it isn’t for them.

I’m fortunate in that as a carer I work for a great employer who pays above minimum wage and offers chances to train, progress and contribute ideas and innovations to the company.

I appreciate I hit lucky, but then so did they (brag). I love my job, my residents and make use of all the training opportunities.

My brother is a medicine student and a carer at weekends for cash and he really enjoys it but he knows he is going to a better position once qualified but he had always said it's the carers that do the hard work and the crap jobs always with a lazy nurse who manages a ward

My eldest son has 2 degrees, He got a degree in Education and a masters in Primary education. Between his undergrad and masters he had a wobble about whether he wanted to go for his PGCE, so decided to do his masters while he decided what he wanted to do. While he did his masters he started work as a carer for young people with ASD, head injuries and LD's.
As he told me, he found a job he loves. He is paid £16k a year and lives in a bedsit, but he absolutely adores his job and finds so much fulfilment from supporting people around his age to do things we all take for granted.
Yes he is wildly overqualified for his job, but he is the happiest I have seen him for years. We do not value our carers nearly enough.

Care work is undervalued and underpaid but there is no more money in the system. Social care is the poor relation of the NHS.

The amount paid to care organisations by the LA is pitiful but most LAs are struggling and cannot increase their rates.

A lot of people fail to understand the economics of care, and why the care agency needs to be paid £20 an hour just to break even.

I totally agree.
My mum has been out of stroke rehab for 1 week. She is paralysed down her right side with aphasia and apraxia. We have carers in 4 times a day provided by Captain Tom's NHS donation. They are very professional, caring, lovely and have been an absolute lifeline for us in getting accustomed to our new lives.

I hope they are very well paid, they all seem very happy with their company

@PookieHook

My eldest son has 2 degrees, He got a degree in Education and a masters in Primary education. Between his undergrad and masters he had a wobble about whether he wanted to go for his PGCE, so decided to do his masters while he decided what he wanted to do. While he did his masters he started work as a carer for young people with ASD, head injuries and LD's. As he told me, he found a job he loves. He is paid £16k a year and lives in a bedsit, but he absolutely adores his job and finds so much fulfilment from supporting people around his age to do things we all take for granted. Yes he is wildly overqualified for his job, but he is the happiest I have seen him for years. We do not value our carers nearly enough.

This is lovely.

Happiness really is worth more than money.

I disagree. The staff turn over rate where I work is appalling because people come into the job expecting it to be a certain way then soon realise it isn’t for them.

I think the point is there a huge pool of appropriately qualified candidates to choose from, in theory. Because no entry qualifications are required. Whereas for example if you wanted to recruit a doctor, you'd be choosing from a much smaller pool of appropriately qualified candidates as you wouldn't even get to the interview / trial stage without a medical degree. Which a much smaller number of the population are in possession of. That's not to say everyone who gets interviewed and offered a career role will be suitable once they are on the job - but they at least are able to be given a shot at it. You can't interview just anyone for medicine and give them a shot at it though - you need someone with a medical degree in the first place. Etc etc .... Therefore your potential candidate pool is larger for care work from the get go. Which fits with the economic argument about supply and demand - more people to choose from equals less demand for qualified candidates; equals (rightly or wrongly) lower pay.

I disagree. The staff turn over rate where I work is appalling because people come into the job expecting it to be a certain way then soon realise it isn’t for them.

Blackitty That’s irrelevant. The fact is that anyone can get the job. How long they stay or whether they’re any good at it doesn’t change the fact you don’t need skills or qualifications to get it.

@emilyfrost

I disagree. The staff turn over rate where I work is appalling because people come into the job expecting it to be a certain way then soon realise it isn’t for them.

Blackitty That’s irrelevant. The fact is that anyone can get the job. How long they stay or whether they’re any good at it doesn’t change the fact you don’t need skills or qualifications to get it.

Surely the point is that while anyone can get the job, damn few people can actually do it, hence high turnover. And the sad thing is that we treat the ones who do it so badly in terms of employment conditions that they aren't valued for doing it.

I believe that carers in Scotland have to achieve a qualification within a certain time of appointment?

@OllyBJolly
You’re right, you need to obtain an SVQ level 2. It’s a vocational qualification that you do whilst working.

I think the people who believe there is a huge pool of potential candidates to chose from are slightly naive. In reality, it’s a really small proportion of the population that are even willing to do the job in the first place. My manager will put aside an entire day to conduct interviews but less than half of the interviewees will turn up. Some of the interviewees that do show up are so unsuitable it’s unreal, they will seriously say things like ‘I won’t wipe anyone’s arse’ and such.

@emilyfrost
You do need skills to get a job in care. You need to be compassionate, intra-personal skills, an effective communicator, problem solving skills, excellent recording skills, IT skills, adequate literacy, numeracy skills, the ability to carry out a risk assessment and the list goes on...

I have worked in care for almost ten years. I have A levels, a degree and an SVQ plus a wide range of experience giving care to adults with additional and complex needs. The pay is crap and the employers can be awful, but I stayed because I enjoyed the work I was doing with the people I was supporting. The problem is that people still see it as unskilled work. Until this changes I don’t think carers will get get the pay or recognition they deserve.

@emilyfrost
You do need skills to get a job in care. You need to be compassionate, intra-personal skills, an effective communicator, problem solving skills, excellent recording skills, IT skills, adequate literacy, numeracy skills, the ability to carry out a risk assessment and the list goes on...

The point people have been making is that you don't need a formally recognised qualification to gain entry to the profession - which in theory lowers the 'value' because employers can select applicants from a wider pool of people. No one is disputing that skills are required - just that isn't currently formally recognised in the form of professional training / qualification to enter the profession in the first instance.

I think the people who believe there is a huge pool of potential candidates to chose from are slightly naive. In reality, it’s a really small proportion of the population that are even willing to do the job in the first place. My manager will put aside an entire day to conduct interviews but less than half of the interviewees will turn up. Some of the interviewees that do show up are so unsuitable it’s unreal, they will seriously say things like ‘I won’t wipe anyone’s arse’ and such.

Yes but - again- in theory, because entry qualifications aren't required currently (which by the way I don't agree with! I think there should be formal training), it means that in theory you have more people to select potential candidates from. Whether they show up or not or say in the interview they don't want to the work, is irrelevant. That pool still exists and if person A says in interview "this isn't for me" or doesn't even show up, then person B is easy to find.... and so on.

The problem is that people still see it as unskilled work. Until this changes I don’t think carers will get get the pay or recognition they deserve.

I agree - and this is where a formally recognised training structure / entry qualification to care work would help, IMO.

@Shadow21 absolutely I’m shocked the way people are saying you don’t need any skills. It clearly goes to show that those with a piece of paper think that they have made it in life. You do need skills to work in care weather they are appreciated and recognised is another matter

The carer we had for my dad during cover was fabulous, at first dad didn't take to her but after a week he was very happy with her and what she did. Always cleared up the commode etc if I hadn't got to it by the time she came (I ways tried to sort him out ready for her with everything laid out.

The day he died she dressed him cleaned him and made him comfortable, then when we rang her with the sad news she came back to say goodbye in person. Yet she is paid a pittance and rushed of her feet makes time for others.

I belong to a union and pay my dues, hopefully the more that join the more can be done, unions are only as good as their members.

Carers should absolutely be paid more, and then you have teachers whinging constantly.

See this is where it really pisses me off. I have been in the health care profession for well over 30 years. Started off trying to do my RGN back in the late 80s, didn't last long due to personal problems.

I have worked hard to get where i am now, got many qualifications to do my job. Like i said up thread, now new carers have to do a Care certificate in 6 months of starting their job.

As Lou says you do need skills to be a carer.

I have an NVQ 2 and 3.
Dementia care
Medication cert
End of Life
Common diseases and illnesses
Infection Control
I'm a qualified Intense First Aider
Safe guarding
and many more, Ive lost count, we have to have annual updates so we can do our job.

There may not be a formal qualification, but you still need maths, English

Im a senior carer on nights, I am in charge of 30 residents and 2 other carers. Anything that happens it falls on my head.

My 21 yr old has tried to get in care homes, but has no qualifications. They will not take her on as she has no experience either.

So no not anyone can be a carer.

It clearly goes to show that those with a piece of paper think that they have made it in life.

No - it really doesn't.

It shows that there is (for about the 5th time), no formal training route or qualification required for entry to the profession. Same as many other professions. But in contrast to some other professions, too. Such as for example medicine or law.

It's not my fault - or any other posters fault on here - that that is the case. But it doesn't change the fact that, currently - it is the case.

Without a formal, standardised training route and entry qualification, it remains that you will have a larger pool of people to choose from compared to professions that require evidence or formal training and qualifications.

Again - for about the 3rd time - I am not saying that this is right or fair. In fact, I think there should be formal training to improve standards of care where it's needed whilst also improving the value placed on - and therefore the pay of - carers.

But people have repeatedly mentioned training and "a bit of paper" (ie a qualification) on this thread because it is relevant to understanding why carers are not currently more valued or more highly paid.

Again - for the avoidance of doubt - they really should be more highly valued and more highly paid, IMO.

I’ve been saying for a long time that the education requirement for a carer should be higher than what it is. The wage currently for most carers is minimum wage and, no offence OP, but this then just attracts mostly uneducated and poor quality carers which in turn means poor quality care for our elderly and vulnerable people. There needs to be higher education entry for applicants, more in depth training, because it’s an important job that requires educated and intelligent people.