Recently my friend became a Support Worker with a Home Care / CHSP Provider.
Now I know a lot about Home Care. My business is based on my knowledge. I understand the business from a provider’s perspective and I also know it’s an absolute nightmare for consumers.
Most days have been great. She loves coming home knowing she has made a lonely lady’s fortnight by having a cuppa and a chat, fully aware that she’s not going to see another human until her next visit in a fortnight.
On other days she’s completely shattered after doing five cleaning jobs in a row and being greeted at every front door with a complaint about how they again have to deal with a new support worker. One Lady called her number 36 when she walked in the door. #rude
The biggest surprise for me what the realisation that the pay is really, really, bad…
Your pay is dependent on how good the scheduling department is. For anyone that has been or is a home care scheduler, you have my sympathy. I regularly call it the worst job in the world. Get out if you can. Your life is worth more than that.
Anyway, I digress…. Here’s how it works. You give your availability, say 9 am to 5 pm. You are required to be available during those hours. The schedulers then fill in your day.
Let’s look at her last work day, she had six clients that totalled six hours of service. The other hour and a half was allocated to travel and there was a gap between two clients. Now here is the kicker – you only get paid for your hours of service and your kilometres.
For the six hours at $25.84 per hour, she received $155.04. She clocked around 37 km @ .72 cents per km. The total sum earnt for the day was $181.68. I am guessing it cost approx $10-15 in petrol, so I’ll deduct that cost to bring it back to around $170 for this exercise, leaving an hourly rate of around $21.25.
Are you kidding me??? This is what people get paid to look after the most vulnerable members of our community? It’s barely minimum wage.
Now here’s the thing about being an aged care consultant. I know that providers charge an hourly rate of around $60-65 per hour in Perth. I know they charge each client $1.00 per km. Each hour worked costs a client somewhere between $70-75.
If you listen to any provider, they will tell you they aren’t making any money. Given the current state of play which allows providers to be non-transparent about their financials, it is difficult to ascertain what is truth or fiction. (Not for profits – I’m looking at you)
All I know is, is that every provider is making a 30% profit on their kilometre charge, along with significant margins on hourly rates and other home care package fees.
I don’t believe it is unreasonable for every provider to pass on their full kilometre charge directly to their care staff.
It’s not much, but for a full-timer, that would be somewhere between $50-$100 per week extra in their pay, depending on their week. This increase might keep them in the job a bit longer and reduce every provider’s massive recruitment costs.
Make no mistake, once providers know they aren’t making any money by sending their workers on a merry trek around the burbs, you can bet your bottom dollar you would see a massive push to streamline services and travel allocations. This would then increase the availability of their support staff, creating additional support hours for their clients. (Look at that, I just solved your staffing problems!).
The majority of community support workers are mums, students and new immigrants who are trying their best to provide themselves and their loved ones with a secure future. It would be nice to think that home care providers could support them in this. Every advert plastered over our TVs and social media tells us how caring and supportive they are.
It’s about time they put their money where their mouth is.
Thanks
Vanessa