Care Workers
Debate between Andrew Smith and Mark Lazarowicz(10 years ago)
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Mark Lazarowicz (Edinburgh North and Leith) (Lab/Co-op)
I am grateful to my right hon. Friend for raising this important issue. On workers not being paid for their travel time, he mentioned the Unison survey in England, but I can assure him that the situation is, regrettably, the same throughout the country. A Unison survey in Scotland found that more than 50% of care workers were not paid for travel time under their contracts.
Mr Smith
My hon. Friend’s point is well made. We are undoubtedly talking about a United Kingdom-wide problem. A Freedom of Information Act request from Unison this year showed that a staggering 93% of councils in England and Wales—I dare say that the situation is not so different in Scotland and Northern Ireland—do not make it a contractual condition that the home care providers that they commission must pay home care workers for their travel time.