Care workers in Powys who are employed by the UK’s largest employee-owned care provider have been told they must accept changes to their contracts, including changes to paid breaks, in what a union has called a ‘fire and rehire’ threat.
However, Shaw Healthcare has rejected Unison’s claim that the care workers will see their pay cut.
Unison claimed that workers were facing a “fire and rehire” threat, suggesting they must accept changes to their employment terms or risk dismissal and re-engagement on a new contract.
The contractual changes being made include the removal of a paid 30-minute break and the extension of their shifts by 30 minutes, the union said. However, Shaw Healthcare said that workers would now be paid for the 15 minutes of handover that takes place either side of their shift, which previously went unpaid, and that staff would still be able to take their 30-minute break unpaid.
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Unison also claimed staff have been banned from eating food with residents at meal times, but Shaw said they would still be able to purchase food from a subsidised canteen.
Abigail Katsande, regional operational director at Shaw Healthcare, commented: “There has not been a pay cut. We have been in consultation for the past three months regarding the proposed changes that aligned Powys’ residents’ wellbeing in line with the rest of Shaw, and best care practice in the UK.
“Previously, employees were paid for lunch breaks but not for hand overs of residents’ care for 15 minutes either side of their daily shifts. Our proposals, to which over 99% of carers have agreed to, introduce this practice as contractual rather than optional. Cooked meals for employees at the care homes are also heavily subsidised by Shaw meaning they pay a small amount per meal, and by comparison lower than the NHS canteen meals.”
The union has written to Powys County Council, urging it to reprimand the company.
John Byrne, Unison Powys County branch secretary, said: “Shaw Healthcare is exploiting hard working staff, who are already low-paid. Care workers give everything to support people in our community, but their employer has been bullying them to give up their rights.
“These are local jobs and it is right for the council to investigate and ensure all care workers are treated with the dignity and respect they deserve. Ultimately, directly provided council care services are the best guarantee of standards for staff and services users.”
Katsande said that Shaw Healthcare offered a wide range of benefits to support staff wellbeing.
“We first adopted the Real Living Wage on the 1st March 2022 which meant that every Shaw employee in Powys was paid 40p per hour more than the National Living Wage. On the 1st April 2023, we implemented the increased Real Living Wage rate of £10.90 per hour (48p more than the National Living Wage) and a flat rate increase of £1 per hour for all other employees,” she said.
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“Since becoming the largest employee-owned care provider in the UK in May 2020 each full-time employee has been awarded £1,250 in a series of tax-free bonuses to thank them for their hard work.”
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