Time to consider employment conditions for carers

Editor—White reports the UK government's plan to overhaul social care services.¹ The employment conditions of carers seem always to be omitted from discussion about service provision. Conditions of employment (if they exist) seem not to apply for those who work for care agencies.

Employees lack status and support. The job of a carer is perceived as little more than a modified form of normal housework. But how many housewives are responsible for the organisation and basic cleanliness of 10 or 20 homes? The carer has to learn the likes and dislikes of the client and the geography of the client's home, often also acting as a psychotherapist. People with pain can be fractious and difficult, and elderly people may not be paragons of charm and cheerfulness. A carer's job can sometimes be thankless.

Many carers are unstinting in the amount of extra care they provide—shopping, for example, not just for a client's basic necessities but also for presents for a client's friend or relative. It might all be part of the job, but financial compensation for the time spent doing this is rare.

Carers are often called on at short notice to make extra visits—usually to cover for someone else—invariably at weekends. Not many people with families wish to work at weekends. Carers therefore often have little control over the amount of time they work, and many care agencies do not pay more for these unsocial hours. Carers must be among some of the lowest paid people in the country. Why does society expect cut price honesty, integrity, and selflessness?

The government proposals are to be welcomed, but implementation will fail unless the workforce is considered.