Direct payments how much should I pay my carers?

Jk1000

I am changing from agency care to private care.  My direct payment will now be paid to the private carers I hire.  I need 24/7 care and a team of 5 carers will work on a rolling rota system .  2 of the team are to act as team leaders to cover sickness/holidays so I need to offer different rates of pay for the regular carers and the team leaders.  I had thought for regular carers £9.50 hr for 14 hrs + £40 for overnight and £11 for 14 hrs + £60 overnight for team leaders but the team leaders want more, I don't know if what I am offering is about right ???? what do you think ?

thanks Janet 

Angela_Alumni

Hi Janet

As an employer you have a legal responsibility to ensure that your PA’s are paid at  least  the National Minimum Wage  and the current rates are as follows:

Year	25 and over	21 to 24	18 to 20	Under 18	Apprentice
April 2016 (current rate)	£7.20	£6.70	£5.30	£3.87	£3.30

Are you employing live in carers?  If you are then you are able to take into account any accommodation charges when calculating the minimum wage.   

Also some employers choose to pay their PA’s the Living Wage – which is voluntary and current rates are £8.25 per hour across the UK (but £9.40 in London)

The rates you are proposing certainly meet your legal responsibilities in relation to the National Minimum Wage however the key here is to ensure that the rates you are proposing to pay and all other employer related costs can be met within your personal budget.   For example your budget will also need to cover, on-going employers liability insurance, future recruitment costs, sick pay, holiday pay, holiday and sickness cover, payments to HMRC, payroll cost, etc.  If you are able to tell me the area that you live in I could try and find a local support service that could help you to look at this in more detail. You could call me at the helpline on 0808 800 3333 or email marked for my attention to helpline@scope.org.uk

onmybiketoo

Very good reply above. Can I also add if you want to have a team that stays rather than comes and goes like a revolving door as many people experience, you may need to pay more if you need your team to have specialist knowledge which verges on quasi nursing, such as bowel/urine management, blood pressure fluctuations, sudden deterioration in your condition such as fits / autonomic dysreflexia etc My husband also needs 24/7 care has a high level spinal cord injury, qualifies for NHS CHC we would need care-workers with quasi-nursing qualifications.I think you are very brave going down this route we decided we did not want the responsibility of the  legal risks / employer duties / pension / Health & Safety of doing so. Please make sure you have covered yourself fully as an employer, don't end up in a tribunal court. Social services + NHS are making it all seem very attractive without fully explaining the duties of the employer. All the best hope it works out for you.