Homecare carer Travel Time between calls not paid

martinx26

Hi there,

Has anybody experienced the following:

I used to work for a care agency on a zero hour contract which consisted of me doing several calls a day. I was paid for each visit, however, I was not paid travel time in between calls.

I have contacted ACAS and they have informed me it's illegal not to pay travel time. It is also documented on the government website and uses carers travel time as a prime example! I have informed the branch manager of this and she gave me some vague information about how they should be paying it and should be putting it into operation very soon. However, I don't believe that will ever happen.

I have worked for this company for over 2 years and I've roughly worked out I'm owned about £4,200 in travel time pay backdated over 2 years. My friend also works for the same company, but has worked for them for over 7 years and is owed approx £13,000 in travel pay.

If we would to obtain a solicitor, would the care company have any legs to stand on? A care worker has previously taken her care company to court over travel time and has won.

This is alot of money, I really cannot see how a care company can defend this?

cazziebo

It's a terrible situation really, and quite obscene that this is how the care sector works. I heard that one carer had won a case, but had still not received any cash (amount awarded was around £800) and none of her colleagues had managed to get their cases progressed.

This case was argued on the basis that the travel time took the overall pay under the NMW, not that the actual time travelling should have been paid. That suggests that there are reasons it couldn't be argued on that basis.

The problem is that councils only pay for the time spent in the service users' home. The amount paid is only enough to cover the pay rate, employment on cost and in many cases, the smallest margin to cover overheads. Hence we are seeing the care sector being dominated by the very large providers, with the smaller independents being forced out of business, or out of public funded care.

Rather than a solicitor, you might be better joining one of the unions who are currently fighting this. I believe Unison and Unite are currently campaigning on this, and there may be others.