Commenting on the Taylor review on modern employment practices, UNISON general secretary Dave Prentis said: “There is serious room for improvement in employment practices particularly for home care workers who are still being exploited en masse.
“It’s shocking that so many are not even paid the legal minimum for the work they do. This significantly undermines care standards and pushes a large proportion of the workforce into poverty or away from the profession altogether.
“In many cases, workers can’t tell whether they are being paid for all the hours they work because their payslips are so confusing. And employers have been allowed to get away with this for too long.
“If we want elderly and disabled people in need of care to be treated with dignity, then care workers must be treated with dignity as well.
“But the system is fundamentally flawed as workers are now priced out of justice because of the introduction of tribunal fees.”
Notes to editors:
– UNISON’s long battle to abolish tribunal fees, which started in the High Court in July 2013, is currently with the Supreme Court and a judgment is expected soon.
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