Care Workers of Essex in Dire Straits
Care homes and care workers contribute to the wellbeing of the society. Care workers impart much needed services at care homes to ensure that inmates are well cared for and peaceful. They shoulder the daily care responsibilities with immense responsibility. Despite their noble contribution the pay they receive is meagre resulting in a frugal life.
Excelcare, a home care services firm in the business for over 20 years has over a hundred members of staff who ensure smooth operations. When the firm decided to take over another ten care homes at
It barely managed to handle the operations and looked at ways and means of running the business. The first measure of cost cuts appeared as pay cuts of nearly 40%. It was a blow to the hardworking care worker who managed to barely stay afloat with meagre pay.
To top it, Excelcare introduced new contracts that were definitely not employee friendly. When the workers refused to sign it they were promptly dismissed. A tribunal took up the hearing of the case. Excelcare claimed that it had no other way but to enforce these contracts as the only other alternative was to close the care homes.
However, the argument did not go down well with the tribunal. It ordered Excelcare to pay compensation to its dismissed employees. The payouts ranged from £1,000 to £300,000.
The compensation came as a pleasant outcome for trade union Unison. Unison’s spokeswoman Anne Vinden was thrilled that the compensation came through. She opined that care workers are low-paid members who deserved to be well treated. Annalie King, an employment solicitor at KCJ who specialises in care home issues was clear that care homes and care workers were in the sensitive people’s business and had more than a fair share of grievances. It was important that the employers and workers are aware of their legal responsibilities. Any dismissal on unfair grounds is liable for action and compensation. It is definitely wise to seek legal counsel.
Protecting the health and safety of employees is an essential part of risk management. The health & safety consultants from Workplace Law can assist managers and supervisors in all they need to know to help handle health and safety in their teams to learn about the importance of promoting awareness and attitude, and communication about safety to help boost team performance for a more effective working practice.