Am I right to feel pissed off about this?

[Nonononon]

Prepared to be told no and that I should have gained a better education before I moan about not being paid enough etc.. (fwiw I feel like I've done pretty well considering the upbringing/background I've had but thats for another thread)

How is it, the Welsh care workers got a £500 bonus for working during coronavirus, Scottish care workers are now being paid the real living wage whilst us English workers got nothing?
Well not "nothing", want to know what we got from our (very large) private company? A post card saying thank you for continuing our jobs and 7 mini chocolates you know, like miniatures.. as if someone dipped their hand into a tub of left over celebrations and sent them off in the post.
I have a picture but I'm scared to post it as I'll get sacked for making the company look bad if it gets 'out'. 7 actual miniture chocolates. It's an awful feeling, like I know they're just trying to do something nice, it was a gesture but I feel insulted by it. Almost like, is that all we're really worth?.. suppose as there was 7 sweets and we have 5 staff members (left) that means two of us will get an extra one.. what a joyous day that'll be..
So, I know there's no money but why are the English carers being left behind?

The same reason why carers have been underpaid , disrespected and undervalued for ever.
Until the shit hits the fan .......

All this talk of change, applauded on Thursday etc.. but no, I MUST remember my place. I'm an unskilled worker (what a fucking joke..), my life and that of my families doenst count as I'm more dispensable than a box of gloves. But I have to bow down on my knees and thank the home owner gods for my 50p ph pay rise and one (maybe two if im lucky) miniature chocolate,and I swear it better not be the milky way or im handing my notice in (😁) . We've each been doing the work load of an extra person for the past 5 years now so we're used to being more busy without any kind of thank you or appreciation (Yes I know, my pay check is my "thank you") But now seeing how the Welsh and Scottish care workers are being shown appreciation and all we got was a chocolate has pissed me off 😑

Are the care companies nationalised in Scotland and Wales? I don’t understand why, if they are all private companies, it would be all of them in Scotland and all of them in Wales and none in England? I must be misunderstanding something?

Same here.. Hopefully someone can come along and explain this to us.
All I know is, Welsh care workers got a £500 bonus and the Scottish care workers are now being paid the real living wage. (£9.30ph, I think) and we got a 50p ph pay rise but really that's just because the minimum wage went up, they wouldn't have paid us that if they didn't have to..

I think care workers are underpaid and undervalued. You all deserve more than the minimum wage .
Unfortunately no one really wants to pay the true cost of caring for those who cannot care for themselves.
You are skilled and I’m sure you work hard for your wage. It’s not a easy job, I’ve done it so I know, and I hate it when carers are not respected for what they do.
I hope you stay safe and get the respect you deserve.

The difference will be the Scottish workers are in public run care homes I’d imagine rather than private

I don’t understand why, if they are all private companies, it would be all of them in Scotland and all of them in Wales and none in England?

I doubt they are all nationalised. I would imagine that council contracts specify the living wage. If most of the sector is paying it, it becomes the standard.

How is it, the Welsh care workers got a £500 bonus for working during coronavirus, Scottish care workers are now being paid the real living wage whilst us English workers got nothing?

Democracy; they have different parties in government (at least the bit that allocates social care spending). In England even the councils which would wish to employ more caring comanies can't afford to- everything is cut to the bone, cheapest option wins.

Thank you @caramac04

Unfortunately no one really wants to pay the true cost of caring for those who cannot care for themselves

This is what I need to remind myself. Not sure why I'm moaning now we've never done this for the money. People really don't understand that the skills that are transferable (which dictates our wages, apparantly) really are just the base foundation of a good carer. There so much more to the job, knowing the people you work with and being able to provide them with person centred care.
Like the time I just knew something wasn't right with one of our guys "well what's wrong with him?" The gp says? The new staff didn't have a clue, seemed ok "on the surface" and he wasn't able to tell us, but I knew something wasn't right, after working with him for over 6 years. "He's just not himself and I know he's not well" "the pitch in his voice is different and he looks uncomfortable" is all I could say. Thankfully, gp comes out (looks me up and down for wasting her time) , sky high temperature and diagnosed with an unknown infection (wouldn't go to hospital)
People forget that although our "skills" are transferable, company's giving a shit and retaining their staff, making them feel valued etc. Has a much better outcome for the service users as we can keep staff that know them and actually give a shit.

It dawned on me the other day, some of our residents (LD not elderly) have no family, in fact there's only 1 who has consistent contact with family.. I am and have been the only constant person in these people's lives for the past 6 years.. and yet my company would wave me goodbye in an instant. Pay me minimum wage, give me a chocolate and tell me to keep doing my job (of course) but keep everyone alive and happy, out of hospital, fed, bathed and if i die "oh well we put a sign up telling them to wash their hands 🤷‍♀️"

Sorry I'm ranting now 😳

You’re not ranting, you’re entirely right but sadly, I don’t think things will change.

Yeah.. and yet they'll keep throwing training and legislations at us, telling us how to do our jobs and waving fingers around whilst they don't have a caring bone in their bodies. As long as it looks right on paper, most companies don't care about their staff OR service users. Believe me.

I used to work with elderly LD and was fortunate enough to be employed by a great owner who respected us, paid us a bit more than minimum wage and cared about the residents.
After I left I saw one of the residents, the manager had taken him out with her just because, ( he loved going out), when he saw me he shouted my name, bear hugged me and almost lifted me off my feet. I was so happy to see him and vice versa.
I had moved on into professional training but look back on my time there with great fondness. The skills I developed there certainly underpinned my training. I totally agree with you about the range of skills required to make a good carer
I don’t know what the answer is because actually to show appreciation to staff is not just about money but your employers don’t seem to have much idea.

My 16 year old works part time for a private care home chain in England. She has had a £2 an hour rise during the virus now earning 4 x the amount of the NMW for 16 year olds. I work in the public sector is a different role but similarish to social worker, obviously I get nothing but a ppe shortage.

No advice here but I think it's a bloody disgrace that pay workers are classed as 'unskilled' how many people could do the job you are doing - I mean it. It pisses me off - the private care home owners will be making a fortune I'm sure - but I do think they are under a lot of pressure as well. The only way for care workers to get a decent salary and working conditions is if the care homes go back under the wing of the government.

Thank you for all you do you are an angel in disguise.

Thank you for the messages and kind words.
They gave me a boost today that i really needed.
Today, not bothered about the money really. It is what it is. At least I can go to bed tonight knowing I've made some people's day brighter.
Just like you pp have done to mine 😊

I thought you meant you had been individually sent a post card and 7 chocolates (which would be crappy enough!) but they're to share!!!

Seriously, care workers need to be valued more in this country.

But aren’t the care workers in Scotland and Wales employed by the government. The ones employed by a private company are presumably in the same boat as you.

@Nonononon I’m a medic and just wanted to say I completely agree with you and even before Covid have always though the pay and conditions for carers was awful. I have had numerous phone calls with carers when their patients have been admitted to hospital, they have provided me with essential information about the patient’s usual baseline and can often give us information about what they like to eat/drink/wear which makes the hospital experience less stressful for them. I don’t have much experience with LD but the elderly care home population generally come in to hospital with excellent skin quality from being regularly washed and changed, properly dressed including jewellery or accessories that they like, clean clothes, washed hair, medication charts, often these days a “pack” with their photo and a bit about them as a person. Some of these are basic yes but I think it’s really impressive how far carers go to treat these people like people not just numbers. And I realise it is the individual carers not the bosses. So I can’t get a pay rise for you but I do agree you deserve it and I do appreciate you.