That it's not fair that care workers' work can be cancelled just like that?

[Spareprincess]

Hello!

Long time lurker and have finally made an account as mumsnet keeps asking me to sign in!

Anyway, I am a resting actor and am currently temporarily working in the care sector. Really, it is an eye~opener and I'm surprised it is legal to treat carers like this.

Society and the clients' families totally look down on us and even some of the clients are rude (I accept some can't help this ~ eg clients with dementia etc. Unpaid periods of time driving to the next client (how is that ok?). Terrible conditions to work in as some clients' homes are filthy and some are smokers (which I try to get around by opening windows or by working days those clients don't have calls).

The worst thing (for me) though is that clients keep cancelling us last minute, or the agency can't be arsed to tell us until the last minute etc. 3 x times this week I've been cancelled a few hours' before a lady's visit, only to be told she has decided to go out for lunch. Do we get paid for the cancelled visit? Do we heck...

It is a zero hour contract tbf, but the agency do the rota for a month ahead so it feels like we are committed to them but not the other way round. We can't cancel the visit if we decide not to go and we commit so much to them.

The clients don't seem to realise we don't get paid for a cancelled call. Or do they just not care? I really don't know.

And when things go missing, the families immediately suspect us. The agency won't even stick up for us and give us the benefit of the doubt. They~ like the families ~ just come out and ask us if we took something. So rude. Sorry, I think I've had enough of it and I've only been there for 3 months.

Just fed up as I fancied a job where I could help people whilst I have time off from auditions, and was hoping I'd be able to do it on and off for the foreseeable.

That's completely unacceptable. Please leave and find other care work. These care companies are taking advantage.

Have submitted my cv over a 100 times and done interviews too but it’s difficult these days to get a job as a career and also my current company sponsored me so I can’t work full time with other care companies. It’s a difficult situation for me

Try getting a job in care with your local council. I worked in reablement (home calls) and you get paid a reasonable wage, no 0 hours contracts and get around 42p per mile. There are better care jobs out there.

should carers not be able to earn a living? Should they suffer financially? No wonder people don’t want to work in this sector when there’s people like you with this attitude.

I manage a care company and we pay staff in block shifts ie from 7-2 in entirety, not just by individual call regardless of whether their call gets cancelled. We pay £13 an hour, £15 ph for weekends. And 42p a mile fuel. I wish we could pay the carers more. But that's the top of what our local authority contract allows us to pay. I wouldn't work for any company that pays by the visit. Care workers get ripped off that way.

It sounds terrible FWIW my son has a team looking after him and they are amazing. I tell them how great they are frequently. Maybe it's different also if you work for one client and build up a relationship with them and their family.