Direct payment amount to pay worker

[EJ1000]

Hi all, I have been granted 4 hours per wk direct payments. This means I can pay the PA £13 / hour. However , I would like to pay them more than this as it is significant care needs they are dealing with - I think £20-£25/hour is much fairer.
The lady at the council said I can pay them what I like however the extra would have to come out my own money. I can’t afford to top up their wage from my own money however, and what I would rather do is use the DP money but for less hours. Eg: 2 hours per wk at £20/hour.
My worker won’t work for the £13 they offer and it’s hard to find someone (impossible) who will do the job for this amount.
Ive read the FAQs for direct payments and it seems the £13 / hr is more of a guideline (they also say they “recommend” paying double on bank hol etc but def doesn’t seem has to be that way), however lady at council seems to be insisting can only pay £13 /hr from the DP money.
Does anyone have any more solid info on this? TIA

would it, though? The amount would be staying the same, it’s just the hours that would be reduced.

I have already explained exactly how they find out. They compare the timesheets to the payslips and the HMRC records which they automatically have access to. It is between her and the carer only when she pays the entire bill herself. When somebody else (the council) pays the bill it is between her and the Council. Advocating criminal fraud repeatedly isnt exactly covering yourself in glory though, is it?

No.

You really quite obviously don’t understand that this is fraud, can and is investigated, and has consequences. So please stop advising other people.

Yes, it is fraud. I work at a local authority. I do care at assessments. I’m telling you now this would be fraud.

So how would they prove it?

It's like talking to the wall.

OP please do listen to the majority here. Nobody wants to see you end up worse off. Make the case for more pay or whatever, but please don't commit fraud.

No.

So what would it be then?

I was talking about needing increased NI contributions

No, it’s not. I know exactly where you’re coming from.

I just don’t agree with it.

This isn’t an agree disagree situation 😂 it IS fraud.

DOn't do it. I pay direct payment workers for my son. I agree, the pay is shit but it's set by the council, not you. And there will be plenty of people prepared to do the work.

If you get found out, you will lose that support.

Still fraud. If yhd hours worked don’t match the hours paid, it’s fraud.

You say potato…

I think it’s really sad that so many people on here seem to be completely ignoring the human and emotional element of the OP’s situation.

You guys ever thought about becoming traffic wardens?

But that’s not what I was talking about!!

Surely the difficulty is that you have demonstrated to them that you need 4 hours help. They have said they will pay for 4 hours help. If you decide to pay more and get fewer hours, you are demonstrating that you actually only need 2 hours, not 4.

Presumably the carer will go on to work with other people in the hours you propose to free up by her not being with you, on which case their records won't stack up.

Unless the previous poster is suggesting that they too commit fraud by falsely declaring their hours and income etc?

Auditing doesn’t just take a person’s word for it.

And if there are discrepancies, further investigations could be undertaken, including police investigations.

Auditing for a four hours per week caring role …

There’s not enough money in the pot to tackle the really big frauds, bin collections, potholes, street lighting…

We’re not talking about Al Capone here.

Yes, LAs can audit regardless of the size of the package.

The sad reality is these are the easier people to catch, so they do get caught.

Well, I agree with you there.

Honest people tend to admit everything when confronted.

So why encourage OP to do it then? Do you think her life will be easier when she has the hours removed, has to pay it all back and could even face criminal charges?

Ask others have said, the LA audit DPs. Mine are relentlessi if there's even a few pence amiss.

It was a suggestion. I’m not the devil sat on her shoulder, you know.

I have recently left my role in my local authority and there are multiple checks that are done. Not just here and there, but frequently. We ask for proof of bank statements, etc. I also get direct payments for my son and am asked for proof. Proof being payslips for the person I employ, they also have access to the account the money gets paid into as they've moved it over to an all pay account which is monitored by the la. They will review the hours and pay from that. They will also liaise with hmrc. So whilst I agree from a humane perspective that it isn't ok, the reality is that it is actually fraud. So in short, yes the help and support is minimal and a battle but there are huge legal consequences should the op go by what she feels like doing as opposed to what is set in the dp contract.