THOUSANDS of home care workers are paid less than the minimum wage because of the failure of local councils to enforce fair-working contracts on employers, a Unison study revealed today.

The union warned that councils in England and Wales were not insisting that home care companies pay their workers for travel time, leaving workers with take-home pay which is less than the national minimum wage.

A freedom of information request by the union showed that more than half of local authorities in England do not make it a requirement for firms to pay employees for time spent travelling between visits.

The situation is even worse in Wales, where only 40 per cent of councils force private providers to pay for travel time.

A newly released report from the union, Pressed for Time and Out of Pocket, spotlights the tough financial position countless numbers of care workers are put in.

Unison general secretary Dave Prentis said: “It is an absolute disgrace that hard-working home care workers are being penalised in this way.

“Poor rates of pay along with the pressure to keep time spent in each home to a minimum make life tough and play a huge part in the high turnover of staff.

“Both the Westminster and Cardiff governments should bring in a new legal duty for councils so they are clear that home care providers must pay employees for every hour they are at work.

“Any companies who fail to do this should be prevented from delivering care services in the future.”