Below is the story of one of our members. This accompanied the letter we sent to MPs in September 2024. Other stories were written by Anonymous E, Anonymous A, Julie, KR and Rachel. You can download all of our stories here.
My name is Kate, I am 53 and have been a carer for over twenty years in Brighton (so you can imagine how much unpaid travel time I'm owed!).
I first started my job in care because I was a single mum with two young children and in those days I was able to drop my kids off at school and then go on to work and finish in time to pick them up. My kids are now grown up and I even have a granddaughter.
In those twenty years since I first started, the care industry has changed enormously. Originally there were smaller companies with smaller amounts of clients, a more personal touch, where even the manager knew all of the clients. I have now worked for five different companies, though I have never left a single one: it’s just that my employer has been taken over by a new, bigger company four times over. The company I work for now is huge.
One thing that I think people (and possibly MPs) are unaware of, is the amount of responsibility we have as lone workers or even in double up calls.
Also, how dangerous the job can be. In those 20 years I have had to deal with several very scary situations on my own, including:
An alcoholic client setting himself on fire
A client having a heart attack
A client having a stroke
Walking in and finding a client had fallen and smashed his head open, lying unconscious on the floor
Walking in and finding a client dead
A client with mental health issues barring the door and not allowing me to leave.
I've been hit, spat at and sworn at, had things thrown at me
I’ve been sexually harassed
This is nothing compared to some of my colleagues who've shared even worse stories with me.
I worked all the way through the COVID-19 pandemic, looking after clients with the virus, which was quite scary in the early days. I consequently caught COVID-19 for the first time in Summer 2020 which meant I had to have three weeks off work on just £80 a week despite being paid less than the minimum wage!
I have had lots of people, especially younger people shadow me in the job. Few of them last very long. I think as soon as something scary happens, they quit - and who can blame them! I do think you have to be a certain type of person to be in it for the long time.
Saying this, I still love my job and feel that I am in a much better position now than a lot of other care workers. I have my regular clients (one of whom I have been going to for 18 years and another 16 years!) and some new clients each week. I do the hours I want/need and don't get hassled to do more very often now, as my company employ a lot of foreign students on standby to fill in.
I also am lucky that I have a partner who earns a lot more than me. I just don't know how anyone is able to properly support themselves in this job these days, especially in Brighton where the cost of a room alone is £600 a week!
Download all of our stories here:
If you are a homecare worker (or used to be), join our free and welcoming community of support and best-practice to:
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attend meetups (in person and online)
share your experiences of care work to help researchers and policymakers
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