Welsh care home staff have been left furious after being left out of a government pay increase. In February, it was announced by the Welsh Government that about 53,000 care workers would receive a £1,000 bonus from April.
At the time, the Welsh Government said the £96 million worth of payments, being made to registered care home and home care workers alongside the introduction of the real living wage, were to recognise the care workforce after the pandemic.
However, some non-care staff working at care homes have criticised the Welsh Government for not including them in the payment scheme. Tania Garwood is an office administrator at Claremont Court Care Home on Pillmawr Road, Newport, and said she felt it was "unfair" that non-care staff were not getting the extra cash.
Read more: Wales plans to end NHS waiting times of more than a year by spring 2025
"I worked as a carer for seven years and I understand the care staff are underpaid, but this unfair decision by the government has caused a divide within the home and morale is now at rock bottom for those of us who have been left out," she said. "These are very trying difficult times within our care home and being left out of this payment has made myself and all the other staff feel insignificant - this is obviously how the government views us.
"The morale at the home is low due to the strain of the extra work put upon us to keep the home safe and to follow all the Covid rules and regulations and this feels like a kick in the teeth for those of us who have been excluded because we work just as hard as the carers.
"All staff care for the residents - admin, maintenance, cooks, domestics, activities. We all spend time sitting with residents, chatting, cheering them up when they feel sad, making them feel loved and cherished, holding their hands and giving them a hug when they need it."
In mid-2020, the Welsh Government announced that all social care workers in Wales would receive a £500 bonus as part of a move to show staff in the sector that their hard work was “appreciated and recognised” during the pandemic. In March 2021 all NHS staff and social care workers were given a one-off payment of £735 to recognise their contribution during the pandemic.
However, non-direct care staff - including Tania and Claremont Court's activities facilitator Andrea Gillum - have not been included in the most recent scheme which sees care staff and managers given £1,000 between April and June. Tania said she was one of a handful of staff who were medically vulnerable and had "been made to feel like we are nothing" despite working everyday alongside residents and caring staff.
She said she and the owner of the care home had written to Welsh Government over the matter.
"Every department at the home is a cog in the same wheel and if one breaks the wheel stops turning. I feel it is totally unfair that the government are allowed to treat us this way. It has made non 'carers' feel like minions. If we all walked out because of this, which we feel like doing, the residents would suffer and the home couldn't operate.
"The government has divided us. We classed ourselves a team, but obviously we are not - we have been made to feel unworthy and we are obviously thought of in that way by the government. How would care homes run without catering, housekeeping, maintenance, office staff, activities etc? No one is more important than the next person. We all bring value to the care home. [Chair of Care Forum Wales] Mario Kreft said it is vital that no one is left out, yet all other department staff have been left out."
A Welsh Government spokesperson said: “We worked in partnership with the Association of Directors of Social Services, Care Forum Wales and our trade union partners to develop the eligibility criteria for this payment scheme.
"Ancillary staff in care homes undertake a very valuable role and have benefitted from two previous schemes in 2020 and 2021, which made payments of £500 and £735. These schemes were to recognise and reward those who worked in the social care sector during the pandemic.
"This additional payment is different from the previous schemes. It is aligned with the introduction of the Real Living Wage for those, largely professionally registered, social care workers - specifically care workers in care homes, domiciliary care workers and Personal Assistants paid through direct payments. With the addition of senior care staff and managers, this additional payment focuses on those care delivery professionals, where we have a clear agenda to provide improved terms and conditions and career pathways.
"While ancillary staff in care homes work in the social care sector, and provide essential support that helps maintain the quality of provision, they are not delivering personal care services and are not required to register as social care professionals with Social Care Wales. They are therefore not within the scope of this particular initiative."
Mario Kreft MBE, the chair of Care Forum Wales, said: “There has clearly been a great deal of confusion around this payment and the issues in terms of communication have caused understandable frustration. Care Forum Wales lobbied very strongly for the payment to be made to everyone working in the sector, including ancillary staff like administrators, cleaners and cooks.
“Contrary to the way it has been presented, we’re told was not intended as a bonus but rather as tool to encourage recruitment and staff retention in social care and in that sense it’s welcome at a time when we are facing the worst staffing crisis anybody in the sector can remember.
“There is however a much bigger issue about how we value social care workers and ancillary staff and how we commission social care to ensure that our wonderful workforce, including ancillary staff, receive the rewards that they deserve in the long-term.”
