Does this sound fair/right?

kelbell1985

Hi,
Im new to this forum but I really need some help & advice.

I went for an interview on Wednesday for a well known carework company. The interview was very 'odd'- wasn't really interviewed as such, just told what I would be doing (which to be honest the interviewer was quite, well, negative and didnt seem like she liked her job at all!) wasn't really asked anything about my experience what Ive done in the past or any of the 'normal' interview questions but I got the job.

I had to pay £40 for them to do my CRB (which was surprising as I've never had to pay for a CRB in the past, the company always has) but have also found out since that the 3 full days training I have to do will be UNPAID as well as 6-8 hours shadowing UNPAID. They also do not pay petrol allowance for travelling to/from different homes and have told me that business insurance isnt necessary (which I found very unusual as I needed it for travelling to/from clients houses when at my original employment as a bank manager).

So, my hourly rate will be £7.36 evenings and £8odd of a weekend (I cant work weekdays due to childcare)- once I've taken petrol etc out of that I'm not sure I'm actually going to be left with much. What do you guys think?

any help/advice would be grateful x

Emmzi

is it self employed?

kelbell1985

No I'll be employed by them x

Emmzi

personally I would expect to be paid for the training. Sounds dodgey already. How badly do you need the job? There must be better carer jobs out there.

Horace

It sounds like self employment to me. As for the CRB check, I have noticed that quite a few employers are asking that the potential employee pays - I must admit that I tend to avoid those kind of jobs.

You would be better off setting up in self employment - paying £100 to Jamie Oliver and running his Jamie at Home parties, I understand the commission is reasonable and the price you pay is for the kit which is worth £400. You could work this around your kids.

kelbell1985

Its definitely employed, not self employed.

I'm training to be a childminder at the moment but we really need the money to cover mortgage & bill until I can take on kids as my husbands wage alone doesnt cover them
I've already lost the £40 as its not refundable but I'm wondering now if its worth me even starting the job (once they finally give me a start date!) as basically 4 days unpaid work and then forking out for petrol costs, Im gonna end up on less than minimum wage

t0rt0ise

A lot of these carer companies are dodgy. We read it all the time on here. Some are okay but not the one you've found by the sounds of it.

kelbell1985

Its worrying to think, if they treat members of staff like this, how do they treat the elderly

sofaspud1234

I worked for a care company I paid for the crb but it was given back to me after 3 months, they also paid milage. I suggest you find another care company as they sound awful.

miss_duke

I agree with the above hon, see if theres any other care agencys hiring. I have saw many posts on here with similar complaints. Good luck xxx

kelbell1985

tbh, I wasn't specifically looking for care work, it just happened to be one of the only places that responded to applications that I've been putting in. I've thought about it hard today and I think I'm just going to pull out. For starters, they dont seem like a great company to work for if the person interviewing me didnt even seem happy and with all the other issues it just wont be worth while!
Thanks for your help everyone xx