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Almost half of all care workers in England are paid less than the living wage, according to research.
Analysis by the Institute for Public Policy Research for the Living Wage Foundation found that 400,000 social care workers are paid less than £12 an hour, the amount needed to cover living costs.
We speak to a caregiver who is struggling to make ends meet.
Matt, 33, started working in social care during the pandemic when he lost his job as a chef. “An ad popped up on my job application and I thought, ‘I’ve got bills to pay.’ several years and in debt.
Matt became a domestic worker looking after pediatric and mental health patients in Newham, East London. But he was shocked at how poorly it was rewarded.
“I noticed that for the work that all of the caregivers like me had to do, the pay was very little,” he says. In total, Matt worked 45 hours a week helping clients with everyday tasks such as washing, dressing, feeding and providing emotional support, for which he was paid £9.50 an hour. But he says his actual pay is much less. “As I was only paid for the half-hour visit and not the journey between clients, I would be lucky to earn £65 to £70 a day despite working nine hours.
“If you take out bills, general living expenses, I only had £150 to £200 to get me through the month. I was literally working to pay bills and nothing else.”
When he found a company offering the London Living Wage of £13.15, Matt jumped at the chance. “It’s allowed me to pay my bills and have money to enjoy life and actually do things I didn’t think I could,” he says. “I was able to move out and rent a room.”
Last year he was promoted to a more senior role and is now a care co-ordinator at another provider in east London, being paid £24,000 a year. Matt feels like he can finally plan for his future and hopes to move in with his fiancée soon. But he is saddened that so many colleagues are considering leaving welfare because they can get much more elsewhere.
“A carer showed me a job advert at Lidl offering a guaranteed 45 hours a week of shelving at £14 an hour. This is a very good caregiver who is responsible for people’s health and well-being, and they actually consider leaving the company to go do this job. That’s what we’re up against.”
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