Unison concerned at ‘shocking’ conditions endured by overnight care workers
Concerns have been raised about the health and safety of care staff on “sleep-in” shifts after a study showed some faced physical abuse or having to bed down at work in offices or on dirty mattresses.
Unison said its research revealed the “shocking” conditions endured by workers who stay overnight in residential homes or private houses.
Some of the 3,000 workers surveyed by the union said they did not have anywhere to wash, and others said they had been abused physically and verbally, including being punched and threatened with knives.
The report, published at Unison’s annual conference in Liverpool on Tuesday, also revealed cases of heavy workloads, while most of those questioned said they were not allowed to leave their place of work while on a shift.
Unison said the findings come as top-up payments to ensure care staff receive the national minimum wage are being scrapped by some providers.
One in eight respondents said their sleeping facilities were unsuitable where they worked.
Some had to sleep on make-shift beds in staff offices, with ripped mattresses, and others said they had nowhere to sleep at all.
There were also reports of staff having no bathroom to wash or shower in, despite having to work another shift the next day.
Unison’s general secretary Dave Prentis (pictured) said: “This report demonstrates how much sleep-in staff are relied upon.
“They’re effectively keeping the care system on its feet. Yet workers are hugely undervalued by employers and paid poverty wages.
“It’s totally unacceptable to leave staff to sleep in offices, and not protect them from abuse.
“More staff could quit their jobs if employers don’t act, leaving care even more in crisis.”
Unison called on employers to improve sleep-in working conditions such as providing somewhere safe and clean to sleep, carry out proper risk assessments, and urged the Government to fund any back pay owed to sleep-in shift workers who have not received the national minimum wage.
Copyright (c) Press Association Ltd. 2019, All Rights Reserved. Picture (c) Anthony Devlin / PA Wire.
