Pay and Conditions of Care & Support Workers Employed & Commissioned by the Council

The request was successful.

Dear Hertfordshire County Council,

I would like the following information:

1. Do you directly employ Care & Support Workers? [If NO skip to (18)]

2. Do they undertake Sleep-In work? [If NO skip to (6)]

3. Is it your policy that there are circumstances in which this constitutes 'Time Work' for the purposes of calculating National Minimum Wage? [ If NO skip to (5)]

4. What are these circumstances?

5. How was this policy decided upon, by whom (i.e. in what roles)? Please provide minutes of the meetings in which this policy was decided.

6. Do your employees undertake 'Live-In' work? [If NO skip to (10)]

7. Is it your policy that there are circumstances when they are eligible for NMW? [If NO skip to (9)]

8. What are these circumstances?

9. How was this policy decided upon, by whom (i.e. in what roles)? Please provide minutes of the meetings in which this policy was decided.

10. Do any of your employees get 'Premium Rates' at particular times or on particular days (e.g. Bank Holidays, over-time, unsocial hours etc.)? [If NO skip to(12)]

11. Under what circumstances?

12. Please provide data of 'Premium Rates' historically available to these staff; what the rates were under what circumstances and when their eligibility for these rates began and ended.

13. Please provide data of the average hourly rate of front-line Care & Support staff (not inclusive of Team Leaders or above) at this time and historically, as best as you are able.

14. Is the pay of these staff (including such things as sleep-in rates) subject to a Collective Bargaining arrangement involving unions?

15. Which unions?

16. Have you sought advice from HMRC, ACAS or the Dept. of BIS regarding any of these arrangements (with special regard to sleep-in and live-in rates)?

17. Please provide the content of these communications

18. Do you Commission other organisations to provide Care & Support services? [If NO ignore the remainder of these questions]

19. Do you contractually require these organisations to pay National Minimum Wage? [If NO skip to (24)]

20. Do your contracts define the understanding of National Minimum Wage under which the company is expected to operate (such as the circumstances in which sleep-in or live-in workers are eligible for NMW)?

21. What do you do to ensure the contract is robust (e.g. punitive clauses in the case of a breach)?

22. What do you do to monitor adherence to this contractual obligation once the service is 'live'?

23. What are your policies/procedures for handling a report of breach of contract in this regard?

24. Do you commission other organisations to carry out 'Live-In' work?

23. For this ‘Live-In’ work: any information you hold as to what proportion of the fee you pay to the contracted company is actually paid to the worker.

For any section where you have been unable to provide information please provide whatever information in that area you can, or advice and assistance as to what information may be of use, or whom may hold it.

Yours faithfully,

Elias Motran

Herts Direct, Hertfordshire County Council

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CSC InfoGov, Hertfordshire County Council

Dear Elias Motran,

Thank you for your email. Your message has been sent to the relevant department and will be dealt with as soon as possible. Should you need to make contact with us again on this matter, please quote reference number: 08986
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Information Governance, Hertfordshire County Council

Dear Mr Motran

 

Reference number: FOI/HCS/02/16/10447

 

Thank you for your correspondence, received by Hertfordshire County
Council on 5^th February 2016, requesting the following information:

 

I would like the following information:

    

     1. Do you directly employ Care & Support Workers? [If NO skip to

     (18)]

    

     2. Do they undertake Sleep-In work? [If NO skip to (6)]

    

     3. Is it your policy that there are circumstances in which this

     constitutes 'Time Work' for the purposes of calculating National

     Minimum Wage? [ If NO skip to (5)]

    

     4. What are these circumstances?

    

     5. How was this policy decided upon, by whom (i.e. in what roles)?

     Please provide minutes of the meetings in which this policy was

     decided.

    

     6. Do your employees undertake 'Live-In' work? [If NO skip to (10)]

    

     7. Is it your policy that there are circumstances when they are

     eligible for NMW? [If NO skip to (9)]

    

     8. What are these circumstances?

    

     9. How was this policy decided upon, by whom (i.e. in what roles)?

     Please provide minutes of the meetings in which this policy was

     decided.

    

     10. Do any of your employees get 'Premium Rates' at particular

     times or on particular days (e.g. Bank Holidays, over-time,

     unsocial hours etc.)? [If NO skip to(12)]

    

     11. Under what circumstances?

    

     12. Please provide data of 'Premium Rates' historically available

     to these staff; what the rates were under what circumstances and

     when their eligibility for these rates began and ended.

    

     13. Please provide data of the average hourly rate of front-line

     Care & Support staff (not inclusive of Team Leaders or above) at

     this time and historically, as best as you are able.

    

     14. Is the pay of these staff (including such things as sleep-in

     rates) subject to a Collective Bargaining arrangement involving

     unions?

    

     15. Which unions?

    

     16. Have you sought advice from HMRC, ACAS or the Dept. of BIS

     regarding any of these arrangements (with special regard to

     sleep-in and live-in rates)?

    

     17. Please provide the content of these communications

    

     18. Do you Commission other organisations to provide Care & Support

     services? [If NO ignore the remainder of these questions]

     

     19. Do you contractually require these organisations to pay

     National Minimum Wage? [If NO skip to (24)]

    

     20. Do your contracts define the understanding of National Minimum

     Wage under which the company is expected to operate (such as the

     circumstances in which sleep-in or live-in workers are eligible for

     NMW)?

    

     21. What do you do to ensure the contract is robust (e.g. punitive

     clauses in the case of a breach)?

    

     22. What do you do to monitor adherence to this contractual

     obligation once the service is 'live'?

    

     23. What are your policies/procedures for handling a report of

     breach of contract in this regard?

    

     24. Do you commission other organisations to carry out 'Live-In'

     work?

    

     23. For this ‘Live-In’ work: any information you hold as to what

     proportion of the fee you pay to the contracted company is actually

     paid to the worker.

    

     For any section where you have been unable to provide information

     please provide whatever information in that area you can, or advice

     and assistance as to what information may be of use, or whom may

     hold it.

 

Before we are able to begin processing your request under the Freedom of
Information Act 2000 we require some further clarification.  Please
clarify…

 

·         Are you referring to staff looking after both adults and
children

·         Can you define Care & Support Workers – is this within a
residential context?

 

As soon as we receive this clarification we will be in a position to
continue processing your request.

 

In the meantime, if you have any questions, please do not hesitate to
contact us, quoting the reference number on this correspondence.

 

Yours sincerely,

 

 

 

Information Access Team

Postal Point  CHN 305

Hertfordshire County Council,

Pegs Lane

County Hall

Hertfordshire  SG13 8DE

t: 01992 555848 Comnet / Internal: 25848

Fax: 01992 588117

Email: [email address]

 

My working days are Thursday and Friday.

 

****Disclaimer****

The information in this message should be regarded as confidential and is
intended for the addressee only unless explicitly stated. If you have
received this message in error it must be deleted and the sender notified.
The views expressed in this message are personal and not necessarily those
of Hertfordshire County Council unless explicitly stated. Please be aware
that emails sent to or received from Hertfordshire County Council may be
intercepted and read by the council. Interception will only occur to
ensure compliance with council policies or procedures or regulatory
obligations, to prevent or deter crime, or for the purposes of essential
maintenance or support of the email system.

Dear Information Governance,

I am requesting information relating to workers who provide care or support to children or adults or both.

By Care and Support workers I mean workers engaged to provide either care or support in any context. This might be home-care, or in care homes, or in specialised units. It might be the provision of personal care (e.g. bathing) or assistance with tasks, or supervision for the reduction of risks. It might be for people with physical disabilities, learning disabilities, mental health issues, elderly, complex and profound needs or any area where an individual requires a worker to assist them with their day-to-day living.

Yours sincerely,

Elias Motran

Information Governance, Hertfordshire County Council

Dear Mr Motran

 

 

Reference number: FOI/HCS/02/16/10447

                                        

On  5^th February  2016 we received the following request for information
from you:

 

I would like the following information:

    

     1. Do you directly employ Care & Support Workers? [If NO skip to

     (18)]

    

     2. Do they undertake Sleep-In work? [If NO skip to (6)]

    

     3. Is it your policy that there are circumstances in which this

     constitutes 'Time Work' for the purposes of calculating National

     Minimum Wage? [ If NO skip to (5)]

    

     4. What are these circumstances?

    

     5. How was this policy decided upon, by whom (i.e. in what roles)?

     Please provide minutes of the meetings in which this policy was

     decided.

    

     6. Do your employees undertake 'Live-In' work? [If NO skip to (10)]

    

     7. Is it your policy that there are circumstances when they are

     eligible for NMW? [If NO skip to (9)]

    

     8. What are these circumstances?

    

     9. How was this policy decided upon, by whom (i.e. in what roles)?

     Please provide minutes of the meetings in which this policy was

     decided.

    

     10. Do any of your employees get 'Premium Rates' at particular

     times or on particular days (e.g. Bank Holidays, over-time,

     unsocial hours etc.)? [If NO skip to(12)]

    

     11. Under what circumstances?

    

     12. Please provide data of 'Premium Rates' historically available

     to these staff; what the rates were under what circumstances and

     when their eligibility for these rates began and ended.

    

     13. Please provide data of the average hourly rate of front-line

     Care & Support staff (not inclusive of Team Leaders or above) at

     this time and historically, as best as you are able.

    

     14. Is the pay of these staff (including such things as sleep-in

     rates) subject to a Collective Bargaining arrangement involving

     unions?

    

     15. Which unions?

    

     16. Have you sought advice from HMRC, ACAS or the Dept. of BIS

     regarding any of these arrangements (with special regard to

     sleep-in and live-in rates)?

    

     17. Please provide the content of these communications

    

     18. Do you Commission other organisations to provide Care & Support

     services? [If NO ignore the remainder of these questions]

     

     19. Do you contractually require these organisations to pay

     National Minimum Wage? [If NO skip to (24)]

    

     20. Do your contracts define the understanding of National Minimum

     Wage under which the company is expected to operate (such as the

     circumstances in which sleep-in or live-in workers are eligible for

     NMW)?

    

     21. What do you do to ensure the contract is robust (e.g. punitive

     clauses in the case of a breach)?

    

     22. What do you do to monitor adherence to this contractual

     obligation once the service is 'live'?

    

     23. What are your policies/procedures for handling a report of

     breach of contract in this regard?

    

     24. Do you commission other organisations to carry out 'Live-In'

     work?

    

     23. For this ‘Live-In’ work: any information you hold as to what

     proportion of the fee you pay to the contracted company is actually

     paid to the worker.

    

     For any section where you have been unable to provide information

     please provide whatever information in that area you can, or advice

     and assistance as to what information may be of use, or whom may

     hold it.

 

 

Your request for information has been considered under the Freedom of
Information Act 2000. I can confirm that Hertfordshire County Council does
hold the information you have requested and can respond as follows:

 

         1. Do you directly employ Care & Support Workers? [If NO skip to
(18)]

    

Yes

 

     2. Do they undertake Sleep-In work? [If NO skip to (6)]

 

            Yes

    

     3. Is it your policy that there are circumstances in which this

     constitutes 'Time Work' for the purposes of calculating National

     Minimum Wage? [ If NO skip to (5)]

 

            Yes

    

     4. What are these circumstances?

 

HCC pay a fixed payment for a sleep in shift.  If individuals are
disturbed for more than half an hour in this period they are paid their
normal hourly rate. 

 

Hourly rate for employees in these roles is averaged over their working
week.  From recent case law we are aware that employees are entitled to be
paid for all of the time they spend at work.  This includes time in which
they are asleep. The worker does not however have to be paid minimum wage
for each hour worked but must be paid no less than minimum wage on
average for the time worked in the pay reference period.  HCC carry out a
regular assessment to check that average hourly rate is no less than
minimum wage.

   

     5. How was this policy decided upon, by whom (i.e. in what roles)?

     Please provide minutes of the meetings in which this policy was

     decided.

 

This decision was made following HR taking review of case law and
discussions with the legal team.  This did not take place at a formal
meeting and minutes are therefore not available.

    

     6. Do your employees undertake 'Live-In' work? [If NO skip to (10)]

 

            No

    

     10. Do any of your employees get 'Premium Rates' at particular

     times or on particular days (e.g. Bank Holidays, over-time,

     unsocial hours etc.)? [If NO skip to(12)]

 

            Yes

    

     11. Under what circumstances?

 

            Bank Holidays are paid at time and half plus Time off in lieu

            Nights (10pm to 7am) are paid at time and third

    

     12. Please provide data of 'Premium Rates' historically available

     to these staff; what the rates were under what circumstances and

     when their eligibility for these rates began and ended.

 

Above rates (11) have been in place since April 2012 when a review of
terms and conditions took place across the council.

 

            Prior to April premium rates were:

            Bank Holidays Double time plus Time off in lieu

Saturday and Sunday time and half

Split shift 5pence per hour

    

     13. Please provide data of the average hourly rate of front-line

     Care & Support staff (not inclusive of Team Leaders or above) at

     this time and historically, as best as you are able.

                                    Average Hourly Rate

                                    March 2012              February 2016

            Care               £11.36                                   
£11.76

            Support         £8.83                          £8.88

    

     14. Is the pay of these staff (including such things as sleep-in

     rates) subject to a Collective Bargaining arrangement involving

     unions?

 

            Yes

    

     15. Which unions?

 

HCC have collective bargaining arrangements with a number of trade
unions.  UNISON is the recognised union for care and support workers.

    

     16. Have you sought advice from HMRC, ACAS or the Dept. of BIS

     regarding any of these arrangements (with special regard to

     sleep-in and live-in rates)?

 

            No

    

     17. Please provide the content of these communications

    

 

Please see below answers in red in respect of care homes answers in green
in respect of home care.

 

 

 18. Do you Commission other organisations to provide Care & Support

     services? [If NO ignore the remainder of these questions]

    yes / yes

     19. Do you contractually require these organisations to pay

     National Minimum Wage? [If NO skip to (24)]

    No/ Yes in the East of England Terms &Conditions 2015 states the
following clause: “25.2 The Service Provider shall comply with the
provisions of the National Minimum Wage Act 1998 (as amended) in relation
to the payment of its Staff.”

     20. Do your contracts define the understanding of National Minimum

     Wage under which the company is expected to operate (such as the

     circumstances in which sleep-in or live-in workers are eligible for

     NMW)?

     No

    

     21. What do you do to ensure the contract is robust (e.g. punitive

     clauses in the case of a breach)?

    HCC contracts contain robust clauses for eventual outcomes.

     22. What do you do to monitor adherence to this contractual

     obligation once the service is 'live'?

    Our current contract allows HCC to request wage detail from the
provider that we are being monitored.

     23. What are your policies/procedures for handling a report of

     breach of contract in this regard?

    HCC expect providers to inform them of any findings of unlawful
discrimination filed against them. HCC will work with providers to compose
a time specific action plan to prevent repetition of the breach. HCC has
the right to terminate the contract should the actions leading up to the
findings are sufficiently serious undermining the compliance to the
clause.

     24. Do you commission other organisations to carry out 'Live-In'

     work?

    No / Yes we do

     23. For this ‘Live-In’ work: any information you hold as to what

     proportion of the fee you pay to the contracted company is actually

     paid to the worker.

    not applicable / We are do not hold any information on the proportion
of the feed paid to the worker by the company.

     For any section where you have been unable to provide information

     please provide whatever information in that area you can, or advice

     and assistance as to what information may be of use, or whom may

     hold it.

 

 

 

 

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us, quoting
the reference above. To find out more about Freedom of Information, please
visit [1]www.hertsdirect.org/foi

 

If you are unhappy with the way the County Council has handled your
request for information you may request an internal review of the request.
This will be carried out by a member of the County Council Legal Services
Team, who has had no prior involvement with the request. Requests for an
internal review should be sent to the Information Governance Unit at the
address above.

 

If you are unhappy with the outcome of the internal review you are
entitled to ask the Information Commissioner to investigate your
complaint. You should write to: FOI/EIR Complaints Resolution, Information
Commissioner's Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9
5AF.

 

Your sincerely,

 

 

Information Access Team

Postal Point  CHN 305

Hertfordshire County Council,

Pegs Lane

County Hall

Hertfordshire  SG13 8DE

t: 01992 555848 Comnet / Internal: 25848

Fax: 01992 588117

Email: [email address]

 

My working days are Thursday and Friday.

 

****Disclaimer****

The information in this message should be regarded as confidential and is
intended for the addressee only unless explicitly stated. If you have
received this message in error it must be deleted and the sender notified.
The views expressed in this message are personal and not necessarily those
of Hertfordshire County Council unless explicitly stated. Please be aware
that emails sent to or received from Hertfordshire County Council may be
intercepted and read by the council. Interception will only occur to
ensure compliance with council policies or procedures or regulatory
obligations, to prevent or deter crime, or for the purposes of essential
maintenance or support of the email system.

References

Visible links
1. http://www.hertsdirect.org/foi

Information Governance, Hertfordshire County Council

Dear [name removed]

 

Reference number: FOI/CSF/02/16/10441

                                        

On  4^th February    2016 we received the following request for
information from you:

 

a) The council's total spend on agency qualified social work professionals
for calendar years:

2015

2014

2013

 

For each year please provide figures for:

- children's & young people's social care services

- adult social care services

- total

 

b) Please let me know the total number of qualified social workers working
on a recruitment agency basis at the council. Please also provide this
figure as a percentage of the council's permanently directly employed
staff (ie non agency/consultant) qualified social worker headcount.

 

c) Please let me know the total number of qualified social workers working
on a consultancy/self employed basis at the council. Please also provide
this figure as a percentage of the council's permanently directly employed
staff (ie non agency/consultant) qualified social workers.

 

d) Please provide the name and job title of anyone employed in a
senior/managerial position in adult or children's & young people's social
care services who is currently employed on a consultancy contract basis.
Please restrict this to positions involving social care (ie not IT
consultants etc). Please state whether the positions are full or part time
and whether these are interim/short-term or permanent contracts.

                         

 

 

Your request for information has been considered under the Freedom of
Information Act 2000. I can confirm that Hertfordshire County Council does
hold the information you have requested and can respond as follows:

 

 

a) The council's total spend on agency qualified social work professionals
for calendar years:

Children’s Services           Adult Services         Total

2015               £5,888,000                           
£2,802,000                £8,689,000

2014               £6,094,000                           
£1,923,000                £8,017,000

2013               £3,215,000                            £1,587,000
               £4,802,000 (figures only available Apr-Dec)

 

For each year please provide figures for:

- children's & young people's social care services

- adult social care services

- total

 

b) Please let me know the total number of qualified social workers working
on a recruitment agency basis at the council. Please also provide this
figure as a percentage of the council's permanently directly employed
staff (ie non agency/consultant) qualified social worker headcount.

December 2015: 98

 

c) Please let me know the total number of qualified social workers working
on a consultancy/self employed basis at the council. Please also provide
this figure as a percentage of the council's permanently directly employed
staff (ie non agency/consultant) qualified social workers.

December 2015: 69

 

d) Please provide the name and job title of anyone employed in a
senior/managerial position in adult or children's & young people's social
care services who is currently employed on a consultancy contract basis.
Please restrict this to positions involving social care (ie not IT
consultants etc). Please state whether the positions are full or part time
and whether these are interim/short-term or permanent contracts.

 

Regarding the names of these staff the County Council believes this
information is exempt from disclosure under Section 40(2) of the Freedom
of Information Act 2000, relating to third party personal data.  The
disclosure of names would contravene the first Data Protection principle
due to none of the conditions in Schedule 2 of the Data Protection Act
being satisfied.  As a result we are unable to disclose this information.

 

December 2015

Job Title Number
Assistant Team Managers 6
Team Manager 9
Group Manager 1
Mental Health Project Manager 2
Practice Manager 3

 

All these people are agency workers, employed on varying hours each week.

 

 

 

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us, quoting
the reference above. To find out more about Freedom of Information, please
visit [1]www.hertsdirect.org/foi

 

If you are unhappy with the way the County Council has handled your
request for information you may request an internal review of the request.
This will be carried out by a member of the County Council Legal Services
Team, who has had no prior involvement with the request. Requests for an
internal review should be sent to the Information Governance Unit at the
address above.

 

If you are unhappy with the outcome of the internal review you are
entitled to ask the Information Commissioner to investigate your
complaint. You should write to: FOI/EIR Complaints Resolution, Information
Commissioner's Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9
5AF.

 

Your sincerely,

 

 

 

 

 

Information Access Team

Postal Point  CHN 305

Hertfordshire County Council,

Pegs Lane

County Hall

Hertfordshire  SG13 8DE

t: 01992 555848 Comnet / Internal: 25848

Fax: 01992 588117

Email: [2][email address]

 

 

****Disclaimer****

The information in this message should be regarded as confidential and is
intended for the addressee only unless explicitly stated. If you have
received this message in error it must be deleted and the sender notified.
The views expressed in this message are personal and not necessarily those
of Hertfordshire County Council unless explicitly stated. Please be aware
that emails sent to or received from Hertfordshire County Council may be
intercepted and read by the council. Interception will only occur to
ensure compliance with council policies or procedures or regulatory
obligations, to prevent or deter crime, or for the purposes of essential
maintenance or support of the email system.

References

Visible links
1. http://www.hertsdirect.org/foi
2. mailto:[email address]

Doug Paulley left an annotation ()

The Council have informed us that they did not intend to send their communication of 4th March to this request. As such, I have removed the name of the requester; however noting that the information provided is of potential use, is in the same subject area as this request and that it doesn't appear to cause problems for us to continue to publish it, and given that disclosure logs for other councils make clear that the text of this request is already available online, I have decided not to remove it.
--
Doug - volunteer, WhatDoTheyKnow.com