A government investigation has revealed that non payment of the national minimum wage in homecare is widespread.
HMRC found that a staggering 48% of care companies targeted in a special investigation were guilty of not paying workers the national minimum wage. In one case a care worker had been cheated of £11,000.
The report backs up UNISON’s claims that thousands of homecare workers are currently paid below the national minimum wage mainly because they are not paid for their travel time between visits.
Head of local government Heather Wakefield said: “We hope this evidence will inspire more of our branches and activists to get involved in our Pay up for Travel Time Campaign. You can reach out to our homecare members and potential members and start to help them address this scandal.”
All branches have been sent detailed supporting notes along with the campaign materials listed below to support this work.
For more information or help on the campaign please email local.government@unison.co.uk.
Sign up to support our homecare campaign
Read the article on the HMRC report in The Guardian
Download our recruitment leaflet for homecare workers [PDF]
Download our ethical care travel time leaflet [PDF]
