CARE HOME CONTRACTS

Back to all Motions

Conference
2018 National Retired Members Conference
Date
15 June 2018
Decision
Carried as Amended

Many private care homes in addition to charging high fees to residents and/or their families, continue to make charges even after the resident has died or moved to alternative accommodation. These fees can be charged for weeks and sometimes months depending on the wording of the contract. This despite the care home having rapidly re-let the accommodation in the majority of cases. The fees charged can be exorbitant for service users and their families who are often left with the burden of paying up or facing legal action. A liability that can be particularly hard for family members to accept following the death of a loved one.

Many private residential homes also terminate contracts without notice if in the opinion of management the resident has behaved in an unacceptable manner.

Older people often move into care homes at short notice and without fully understanding the terms of the contracts which can be written in a legal format that may be difficult to understand. Independent legal advice is rarely taken and all too often the older person may be suffering from poor health or they and their families are under stress at a time of crisis and are relieved to have found accommodation.

Conference calls upon the National Retired Members’ Committee to:

Campaign to raise awareness of these issues with the National Executive Council, the National Pensioners’ Convention, the Scottish Pensioners’ Forum, Age UK, the TUC, the Scottish TUC and Labour Link and ask that these unfair practices are widely publicised and campaign for legislation to remove unfair terms specific to the care homes including the payment of fees after death and the right to terminate contracts at short notice.