Overnight care workers forced to sleep in offices and told 'bring your own bedding'

Care staff who work night shifts are regularly bedding down in offices, on dirty mattresses, or pretty much anywhere they can find to sleep for the night, according to a new report by a care workers' union.

The report ‘Sleeping in, losing out’ by UNISON has also revealed there is a lack of adequate washing facilities for care staff on overnight shifts, and toilets are often shared with clients and need to be cleaned before the care workers can use them.

One in ten say sleeping facilities ‘inadequate’

The report revealed how more than one in ten (13 per cent) of respondents said their sleeping facilities were unsuitable where they worked as night shift care workers.

One woman, 49-year-old Theresa from Wiltshire, said: “I sleep in the office which has a bed. But everyone uses it – you have to bring your own bedding. Or clients come in and treat it like a chair. What makes the situation worse is that you’re away from home.

“I never feel properly supported, and my pay rise in over a decade amounts to just pennies.”

Another care worker in the study, 30-year-old Clare, said: “People often want food in the middle of the night, so I get woken up every shift. There’s a real effect on family life because you can’t leave the premises.

“The toilet is shared with those we support – it’s often soiled, and I have to clean it before it can be used. I sleep in a tiny room with no space to get around the bed.”

Some had to make do with make-shift beds in staff offices, with ripped mattresses, and others (two per cent) had nowhere to sleep at all. Others reported there was no bathroom to wash or shower in despite having to work another shift the next day, and lack of privacy was an issue too.

More than two in five (41 per cent) reported feeling bad for not being there at night when their families need them. The same percentage has missed out on family events because of having to sleep away from home.

The argument over whether sleep-in shifts should be defined as ‘work’

The report showed that night shift care staff were responsible for calming people with learning disabilities or mental health issues when distressed (81 per cent), assisting vulnerable people to go to the toilet (43 per cent), and giving medication (59 per cent).

Despite this level of responsibility, the law is still unclear as to whether staff should be paid the National Minimum Wage for night shifts – the current state of play is that the NLW isn’t mandatory as it is considered likely that overnight care workers are likely to spend some or all of their time asleep on shifts.

In appeal cases it has been pointed out that this guidance conflicts with that of security guards who are paid to look after office buildings throughout the night. They receive an hourly rate for their entire shift, regardless of whether they are able to grab a few minutes of sleep or not.

The argument about whether or not night shift workers are actually working during the time they are at their place of work is fragile. The report reveals that more than seventy-two per cent of respondents were so busy they only got a couple of hours sleep a night and another seventy-two per cent said they were left feeling exhausted.

UNISON has called on employers to improve sleep-in working conditions such as providing somewhere safe and clean to sleep, carrying out proper risk assessments, and for the Government to fund the back pay owed to sleep-in shift workers who have not received the national minimum wage.

It is expected that the argument over pay for sleep-in shifts will finally be settled in its appeal hearing scheduled for 12 and 13 February 2020.

Leaving the profession

Commenting on the findings from the report, UNISON general secretary Dave Prentis said: “This report demonstrates how much sleep-in staff is relied upon. They’re effectively keeping the care system on its feet. Yet workers are hugely undervalued by employers and paid poverty wages.

“It’s totally unacceptable to leave staff to sleep in offices, and not protect them from abuse. More staff could quit their jobs if employers don’t act, leaving care even more in crisis.”

The Union report follows figures published on 17 June 2019 as part of a new study by the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

Care workers had the lowest one-year retention rate for public sector occupations in 2016/17, at just 67 per cent.

GMB, the union for public sector workers, is demanding immediate action after shock figures showed a third of care workers leave the profession ever year.

Rehana Azam, the GMB National secretary said: “Our care sector is in the midst of a staffing crisis.

“It’s no wonder our carers are leaving in droves when they are underpaid, over worked and driven to despair by the Government’s austerity experiment.

“If the Conservatives continue to devalue the workforce and fail to recognise the need to professionalise them, we will have no one left to look after our most vulnerable.”