In 2011 approximately 160 adults with a severe learning disability and challenging behaviour were transferred from long stay hospital units and moved into their own homes. The private sector stepped in to provide care for these people in their own homes and staff were personally matched and TUPE transferred with an individual. The promise was any private care provider bidding for one of our clients had to show they could ensure our contracts for 2 years minimum and employ new staff on the same pay as the NHS workers to avoid a 2 teir workforce and help with retainment of new staff. A few weeks after the transfer it became apparent this was not the case as providers were employing colleagues at a much lower rate.
By October 2012 Dimensions had cut one third of staff’s salary in the form of lost enhancements, change to overtime rate, reduction in annual leave, loss of sick pay, reduced maternity leave etc.. Staff on average lost between £300 and £500 per month on take home pay. For one reason only many staff accepted the cut at this time and others were dismissed and re – engaged. The reason being respect for those we care for, in Dorset many of us have worked for decades with the people we care for and having seen them uprooted and end up socially isolated in their own homes, often with strangers (agency staff) coming in to care, lost day care provision and many lost suitable transport. We felt so soon after this monumental change in their lifes it would be beyond heart breaking to remove the stability of those they had grown to trust over the decades and bit the bullet and continued to provide good care with the facilities we have for Dimensions.
Lifeways another of these providers early in 2014 not only cut their staff wages in a similar fashion to Dimensions they also reduced the hourly rate by 20% at the same time leading to huge reductions in take home pay. For example a single parent of 3 previously took home £950 per month for part time hours – for these same hours she will now take home £389 – less than her mortgage payment alone and that is after 27 years in the service. Again those that did not sign to accept this cut were dismissed and re – engaged ruthlessly.
In March 2014 Dimensions staff received a further letter stating their hourly rate would be cut by £1.90 (a 20% drop this time). This is going to force the long term staff to search for work elsewhere a choice they cannot take lightly but for reasons of survival will be forced to. This is having devastating effects for those we care for. Stability is essential for those we care for and their quality of life and as staff that realise the importance of this we have dedicated our life’s in many cases to the vocation.
Both Dimensions and Lifeways insist the cuts are only necessary as the local authorities who commission the work to such companies have cut the budget and they cannot survive as a business unless they do. This appears to be their priority. Survival as a business rather than the devastation they are about to unleash on staff and people we care for.
That said other private providers locally receiving the same amount of money from the authorities have kept their ex NHS staff on their original terms and conditions and not gone out of business. Despite staff arguing that the cut of £1.90 per hour to 42 Dimensions staff in the area, will result in recruitment and training costs higher than the saving made, Dimensions are well aware of this and stated they are looking at the long term stability of the company. So to us as staff this devastating upheaval is completely unnecessary, especially when you learn extra directors with huge salaries have been employed. Managers have been cut in number but received an increase, deputy managers have been put in place and a bonus will be paid to all staff in April due to a profit share scheme.
In what world can carers and those we care for be treated this way? In a tory world where profit is put before people time and time again, I would ask everyone reading this to imagine losing 50% of their wage within 2 years, through no fault of their own and in fact for taking more responsibility now than we ever did as a care worker in the hospital units.
Where does this leave me? Other than fighting against this cut I cannot look the gentleman I have looked after since 1999 in the eye for fear of how I am about to let him down, let alone his family and how they will feel when those staff they trust implicitly are priced out of the job. Not to mention how to pay my bills and care for my children.
Fenella Wolstenholme
This article first appeared in Bournemouth District Searchlight a new and exciting addition to social reporting.
