To think it's really not worth me working for £9.90 an hour

103 replies

Rolaskatox · 10/12/2022 12:16

I've been offered a role as a Care Assistant in admittedly a very nice home. Also, only doing care whereas many homes also require you to work in the kitchen, laundry etc. As well as doing the care.
However, I've seen that Aldi offer a starting salary of £10.50 an hour. Not saying Aldi is an easy job, but feel like 9.90 is just too low really.

OP posts:

MarshaBradyo · 11/12/2022 08:05

JockTamsonsBairns · 10/12/2022 20:04

I'd say that if pay is your motivator (and nothing wrong with that) then avoid care work.
I've been a carer for 26 years. It's emotionally and physically tough, the expectations are relentless, and it's largely an unvalued role.

I do it because I love it - not for the renumeration. I get so much joy from caring for elderly people, finding out about their lives, and being able to support them through the difficult aging process. It's not easy, but I wouldn't be doing anything else (and I'm degree educated).

Aldi will give you a better rate of pay, no doubt about that. You'll be expected to give your pound of flesh, much like any other job. And it's not easy to get into, from what I understand.

I'd like to add - please don't do what other pp have suggested, and take the care job before applying to Aldi.
Our elderly people deserve better than people doing their care as a stop gap. Building relationships is a massive part of my job, and that gets minimised by the number of staff who just pass through.
We do very intimate care, and it's not right that people treat this lightly, like it doesn't matter. Elderly people are deserving of dignity and privacy, and therefore need dedicated carers involved in their care.

Nice post, good to get insight into it

FirstnameSuesecondnamePerb · 11/12/2022 08:30

Tesco pays £10.10 per hour outside London and you get 15% discount for the 4 days after payday each month, or 10% the rest of the time.

Longtimelurkerfinallyposts · 11/12/2022 09:01

@MayISuggestSomeThickCutSteakChipsToGoWithThat
You're supposed to be entitled to enough time to rest between one shift and the next: a full 11 hours off work.
More info: www.gov.uk/rest-breaks-work
Maybe worth joining a union?

And for the OP: if the care home advertised the pay as "generous", and are desperately in need of good reliable staff, they may well be willing to pay you a higher hourly rate (as it's still going to work out less expensive than them going through an agency for cover), so negotiate! (and try to make sure that any training, DBS checks etc are paid by them, not by you)

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