Hi!
We hope you have all managed to find some rest and recuperation over the long bank holiday weekend; even those of use who have had to work. There is no imminent sign of the crisis abating or the lockdown being lifted. However we have proved over the last few weeks the strength and solidarity that we have as a community; that will continue, without doubt, in the weeks ahead
Please feel free to share this email with any workmates who are not yet members of UNISON. They can join here
Care Workers
We reported a couple of days ago that following significant campaigning and pressure from Wirral Unison, the Council agreed to increase its contracts, to ensure that every care worker working on behalf of Wirral Council receives the Real Living Wage – that is currently £9.30 for everyone 18 and over.
We can clarify that means any care worker, working for a private company or charity that provides services for Wirral Council – you do not have to be employed by the Council. That covers the majority of care workers on Wirral.
Care Workers vs Covid 19 On Line Rally – this Thursday 6.30pm
All Care Workers are invited to this UNISON Rally, which will last an hour; email Dave or Lois and we will send you the link – you will be able to access the event on a smartphone or computer.
We will be covering a number of issues;
• Why Care Workers are Key Workers, and need to be treated as such
• Celebrating and Explaining the Real Living Wage
• What we are doing about improving sick pay
• Why PPE and Testing is so important to Key Workers
• Why No Care Worker should have to choose between health and hardship
Life on the Frontline
We want to hear your experiences, what it like being a care worker at this time? We know that you do an amazing job; but we also know that the conditions you often have to work in are far from ideal.
We will publish a number of them (naming neither you or who you work for) – send to Dave or Lois
• Are you struggling to get the appropriate PPE?
• Are you or your family in the high risk category – are you worried about continuing to work?
• Are you worried about the financial impact of being sick?
• What are the difficulties with caring for the vulnerable at the moment?
PPE
Are you having trouble getting the appropriate PPE at work? The Government have tried to blame staff for not using the PPE appropriately - utter rubbish in our opinion. The Government should not be looking to change the requirements for the use of PPE to cover up the failings in provision. Unison and other unions will continue to apply pressure at a national level.
Please contact us, and we will apply pressure to get the equipment you need.
However for ease of reference we have provided provide some useful extracts:
8.10 Individual’s home or usual place of residence
For provision of direct care to any member of a household where one or more is a possible or confirmed case, plastic aprons, FRSMs, eye protection and gloves are recommended.
For delivery of care to any individual meeting criteria for shielding (vulnerable groups) or where anyone in the household meets criteria for shielding, as a minimum, single use disposable plastic aprons, surgical mask and gloves must be worn for the protection of the patient. If the individual is encountered in any context described or if they meet the case definition then additional PPE should be applied as above.
8.11 Community and social care settings, including care homes, mental health and other overnight resident facilities
For direct care of possible or confirmed cases in facilities such as care homes, mental health inpatient units, learning disability and autism residential units, hospices, prisons and other overnight care units, plastic aprons, FRSMs and gloves should be used. Need for eye protection is subject to risk assessment (section 7) meaning dependent on whether the nature of care and whether the individual symptoms present risk of droplet transmission
Sick Pay
A few weeks ago, the Government extended SSP to apply from day 1, rather than day 4. Thanks, but really £95 a week is not sufficient, in fact at less than £3 / hr it is not nearly sufficient.
Unison firmly believes that no worker should have to choose between health and hardship; everyone should get the full sick pay. Of course, in the care sector members are working with vulnerable people, but susceptible to infection – even before this crisis. No-one wants to spread infection, but should workers be asking themselves ‘am I really ill?’, knowing that the answer can make a difference as to whether they can feed their family.
And what for those workers who are high risk, or very high risk or live with someone who is? Those categories exist because the consequences of contracting the virus for someone in those circumstances are much more serious. Yet for care workers, what does it mean? For some it means SSP, but for some care workers, they have been told they will get nothing. What an awful dilemma for anyone to be faced with!! The Council has agreed for its workforce, that those who are high risk or live with someone who is, they should not come into work. Work from home if possible, but stay at home and stay safe. Anyone in this category at the Council will receive full pay.
We are asking that the Council treats care workers, doing a vital job, for the Council are treated the same. We all know that at the moment, that public health should be the priority. No one should be punished for doing the right thing. FULL SICK PAY FOR CARE WORKERS!
Homeworking
Many of us are adjusting to this now. There will be a transition whilst appropriate equipment is made available and many people will be juggling homeworking with childcare. Let’s be clear, there can be no expectation that anyone can perform at the same level as previously; nor can people necessarily work to the same hours. No one should injure their back, neck etc, by being slumped over a laptop for 36 hours a week.
There are of course cost implications to working from home. MP’s can claim an additional homeworking allowance of £10,000 p.a. - no such provision for our members. But there is some assistance available, here’s what the government web site says:
You may be able to claim tax relief for some of the bills you have to pay because you have to work at home on a regular basis. You cannot claim tax relief if you choose to work from home.
You can only claim for things to do with your work, for example, business telephone calls or the extra cost of gas and electricity for your work area.
You cannot claim for things that you use for both private and business use, for example, rent or broadband access.
From 6 April 2020 your employer can pay you up to £6 a week (£26 a month) to cover your additional costs if you have to work from home. For previous tax years the rate is £4 a week (£18 a month).
You will not need to keep any records.
Furloughing
There have been some tweaks to this so it is useful to restate what this means. This is a scheme whereby the Government will fund up to 80% of the pay (to a max of £2500 per month) of certain groups of workers, if it is no longer possible for you to do your job as a result of the virus. The pay will be based on your normal pay – that is the hours you work, not your contracted hours, and it will include sleep in payments.
If employees are shielding in line to public health guidance, or are living with someone who is shielding, they are able to be furloughed if they are unable to work from home; but it does not routinely apply to sickness.
Generally speaking where employers receive public funding for staff costs, and that funding is continuing, the government expects employers to use that money to continue to pay staff and not furlough them. We will be speaking to the Council as to what that means for care workers – and it very much ties in with the issues about sick pay above.
If you were made redundant or stopped working for your employer after 28 February 2020 Your employer can agree to re-employ you and place you on furlough. They’ll still be able to claim a grant to cover 80% of your regular wages, up to a monthly cap of £2,500 if you were on your employer’s PAYE payroll on 28 February 2020.
If you are on Universal Credit and you’re earning less because you’re on furlough, your Universal Credit payment might change - find out how earnings affect your payments: https://www.gov.uk/universal-credit/how-your-earnings-affect-your-payments
Furlough does not apply if hours are reduced, and must apply for at least 3 weeks.
Enjoy the last of this bank holiday weekend
Lois and Dave
Dave: davidnjones@wirral.gov.uk 07880199539
Lois: loisfounds1@wirral.gov.uk 07384512521
Published on: April 14, 2020