How private care firms have got away with breaking the law on pay
By law, no one over the age of 21 should be paid less than £6.19 an hour, but Nelson's employers hit on a ruse – to pay only for "care minutes" with a client. The result is that Nelson is not paid for the time taken to drive 50 miles a day and her hourly pay rate works out at more like £5....
Care workers are routinely tagged with tracking devices to ensure that the time, location and duration of visits are logged. Too short a stay means no pay. "For a 30-minute visit you need to be there at least 23 minutes and arrive within seven minutes of the scheduled time. Even if you finish up early and you are late for the next appointment, you can't leave. You won't get paid. It's Big Brother, except it's no joke," said Nelson.''
The scale of such law-breaking on pay is breathtaking in an industry that supports millions of vulnerable, elderly people. A study in 2011 by King's College London's social care workforce research unit estimates that there are between 150,000 and 220,000 care workers are being paid below the minimum wage...
Compared with the issue of unpaid interns – a matter concerning 100,000 young people, mostly graduates desperate to get a foot on the career ladder – care workers are a forgotten workforce. Mainly older women, often migrants, lightly skilled and with no union clout, their cause has attracted few powerful friends...
(Much more at link.)
http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2013/jun/13/care-firms-law-on-pay
