1 in 6 care workers are paid less than the living wage, say Kendall and Prentis

1 in 6 care workers are paid less than the minimum wage, Liz Kendall, shadow minister for care and older people, and Dave Prentis General Secretary of Unison have said today.

In an article for the Guardian, the two point out that care workers are “subject to one of Britain’s largest illegal wage scandals” with up to 220,000 care workers receiving less than the minimum wage. They say that this is related to employers refusal to pay for travel time, resulting in an average loss of £815 for each worker.

This comes off the back of a freedom of information request to the HMRC, which showed that of the 224 care companies investigated, 115 didn’t pay the minimum wage. However, Kendall and Prentis point out that only a small number of these companies have been ‘named and shamed’ and in total they’ve only been fined £153,000.

They also highlight the lack of training for professional carers and huge workload they are saddled with. Meanwhile, 300,000 are on zero hours contracts.

To address this, Unison have created a petition – which thousands have signed – to call on the government to do more. While Labour MPs have raised the issue in parliament. They also say that Labour will make a change for care workers, through their “crack down” on those people who pay “illegally low wages”, by championing the living wage and banning “exploitative zero-hours contracts.”

On this shadow health secretary Andy Burnham has said:

“David Cameron has created a care crisis and the collapse of social care is dragging down the NHS. His cuts to social care are a root cause of the A&E crisis.

“Labour today pledges to end this scandal. We have a better plan for the care of older people. Labour will bring health and social care services together to ensure older people finally get the care and support they deserve, we will end time-limited, 15-minute visits and we will create a service that cares for those who care.”