Government must act over minimum wage laws affecting care workers, say UNISON and Mencap
UNISON and Mencap have written jointly to the
Prime Minister
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,
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and
council tax
Council
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local authority
A local authority is also called a council. They are a group of people who make decisions about some of the things in the area where you live like schools,
social care
Social care means the services that give care and support to people who need it.
(support for people), parks and dustbin collection.
. They are a group of people who make decisions about some of the things in the area where you live. These include: schools, social care (support for people), parks and dustbin collection.
Tax is the money that people pay to the
council
A council is also called a
local authority
A local authority is also called a council. They are a group of people who make decisions about some of the things in the area where you live like schools,
social care
Social care means the services that give care and support to people who need it.
(support for people), parks and dustbin collection.
. They are a group of people who make decisions about some of the things in the area where you live. These include: schools, social care (support for people), parks and dustbin collection.
. It helps to pay for things like social care (support for people), parks and dustbin collection.
.
people should pay and how things like the National Health
Service
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(
NHS
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) should work.
.
today (Tuesday) calling for immediate reform of minimum wage laws affecting thousands of care workers.
The letter to Boris Johnson says “action is needed urgently” to amend current rules so sleep-in shifts – where staff have to stay overnight away from home – are defined as working time and paid properly.
Last month, the Supreme Court ruled* the hours employees are asleep don’t have to be paid at minimum wage rates, only the time they are awake and looking after people.
UNISON – the biggest union including in social care – and
learning disability
A learning disability is to do with the way someone's brain works. It makes it harder for someone to learn, understand or do things.
charity Mencap, which is one of the UK's largest providers of social care services, were on opposing sides during the long-running case.
Mencap contested the case due to the huge back pay bill facing the care sector, and UNISON supported Clare Tomlinson-Blake because it believes care staff should be paid for all the hours they're at work.
But in the letter to the Prime Minister, both state they are “united in the same vision” of a “properly funded care sector”. They say: “paying staff decent wages is a major part of this” and “fair pay means care providers can retain the skilled workforce that’s essential for excellent care”.
UNISON and Mencap urge Boris Johnson to ask the Low Pay Commission to investigate the issue of sleep-in pay and reassess the status of shifts so “the entirety of these” are treated as working time.
Both say the Supreme Court judgment was a “huge blow to care workers” and warn it could be seen by some providers and council care commissioners as “an opportunity to cut costs including wages”. They predict the result could be “even fewer recruits joining a sector already suffering from thousands of vacancies”.
Mencap and UNISON remind the Prime Minister in the letter that “care workers are already among the lowest paid in the country” and some earn less per hour than the average retail assistant. They state: “We need to prevent their pay being eroded further.”
The letter continues: “The demands on sleep-in workers are considerable. They’re expected to respond to the people they support at any time and at a moment’s notice during the night.
“Acute underfunding lies at the heart of why social care is not fit for purpose. Central government must make more resources available to local authorities to allow much-needed reform. Improving the pay of care workers is the most sensible starting point.
“Each of us will have a friend or relative who relies on the exceptional support provided by social care staff. Or may well need help ourselves one day. This is your chance, Prime Minister, to show you value their remarkable work with fair pay.”
UNISON general secretary Christina McAnea said: “The crisis in social care is a betrayal of the most
vulnerable
Being vulnerable means being at risk of harm, or that you need special care because of your age or disability.
in society.
“The whole sector has been broken for years and the government has ignored this. Proper wages for every hour staff work are a key part of much-needed reform.
“The fact UNISON and Mencap are united on this issue shows the strength of feeling across the care sector that enough is enough. Ministers must take heed and act now.”
Mencap chief executive Edel Harris said: “Care workers are among the lowest paid in society, yet they do vital, highly-skilled work supporting our loved ones. They deserve better pay.
“Boris Johnson promised to fix social care – paying fairly for overnight support is the first step.
“Today, we’re joining UNISON to urge the Prime Minister to change minimum wage legislation. Ultimately, the government’s reforms must include properly funding social care and improving pay to create a world-class social care system we can be proud of.”
Notes to editors:
- Click here to read the full version of the letter to Boris Johnson.
-*The case taken by UNISON on behalf of Clare Tomlinson-Blake was successful at both
employment
Employment means having a job.
tribunal (2016) and employment
appeal
To appeal means saying you want someone to think about a decision again.
tribunal (2017). But in July 2018 the Court of
Appeal
To appeal means saying you want someone to think about a decision again.
found in favour of the Royal Mencap Society. UNISON was then given permission by the Supreme Court in February 2019 to appeal against the Court of Appeal judgment. The appeal was heard in February 2020 and the Supreme Court judgment delivered on 19 March this year.
- UNISON is the UK’s largest union, with more than 1.3 million members providing public services in
education
Education is when you learn things. When you fill in a form to get a job, education means you write where you went to school, college or university.
, local government, the NHS, police service and energy. They are employed in the public, voluntary and private sectors.
- About Mencap: there are approximately 1.5 million people with a learning disability in the UK. Mencap works to support people with a learning disability, their families and carers by fighting to change laws, improve services and access to education, employment and
leisure
Leisure is when you have time to do things you enjoy like playing sports or going to the pub.
facilities. Mencap supports thousands of people with a learning disability to live their lives the way they want: www.mencap.org.uk
-For advice and information about learning disability and Mencap services in your area, contact Mencap’s freephone learning disability helpline on 0808 808 1111 (10am-3pm, Monday-Friday) or email helpline@mencap.org.uk.
Media contacts:
UNISON: Liz Chinchen M: 07778 158175 E: l.chinchen@unison.co.uk
MENCAP: Sally Holden T: 020 7696 5414 E: media@mencap.org.uk