news Research exposes toll of unpaid travel and overtime By Linda Belardi
LOW-PAID DISABILITY support workers are spending large amounts of their working day in activities that are unpaid, a new study has found. The RMIT University study analysed the work patterns and pay of 10 employees delivering support under the National Disability Insurance Scheme over three consecutive work days. The research investigated two main types of unpaid work – travel between clients and overtime spent on administration and providing extra support to clients. Of the 10 workers in this study, half recorded 12 per cent or more of their work time as unpaid, including one worker who spent 21 per cent of their time consumed in unpaid work. The financial cost to the already low-paid support workers was significant, ranging from $8.84 to $180
over the three days studied. If all travel between clients and overtime had been paid, the workers would have received between 2 and 27 per cent more pay, according to the study published in the Economic and Labour Relations Review. The frontline workers raised unpaid travel time as a particularly negative aspect of their jobs, especially when client visits were short. As an example, one support worker in the study spent an hour and a half travelling directly between clients in a day. The mainly part-time workers cited fear of jeopardising further work opportunities as a key reason for not turning down shifts that involved a lot of travel, as well as a sense of responsibility to their clients or managers. A provision for paid travel time is not included in the
industrial award for the sector, and only one employer in this research paid for travel between clients as part of an enterprise agreement. However, seven of the disability support workers received a per-kilometre reimbursement for using their own cars when travelling between clients. “Employers appear to have actively exploited the lack of clear minimum standards: paying vehicle allowances for travel between assignments suggests acceptance of this activity as work – while not paying wages for this time,” the authors wrote in the study’s published findings.
UNPAID OVERTIME Half of the workers in the study accrued 50 minutes or more over the three days in unpaid work completing administration such as writing up client notes or providing extra support to clients. The authors described this form of unpaid work as “endemic” and invisible to employers as the additional work was often absorbed into the
unpaid time between their shifts. Unexpected events such as client illness, family carers returning home late or a mismatch between client needs and funded supports were cited as some of the reasons for providing unpaid support to clients. The staff reported it was often difficult or impractical to claim the regular overtime. “Inferior benefits and conditions for social care workers were established in Australian employment regulation long before the introduction of the NDIS. However, our findings support the view that the NDIS is further institutionalising employment practices that produce wages underpayment,” the authors say. The research was conducted by RMIT researchers Fiona MacDonald, Eleanor Bentham and Jenny Malone. Legal cases have been brought in New Zealand and England to challenge the practice of unpaid travel time between client visits resulting in recognition of travel time as paid work time.n
Building a virtual carer network A NEW RESEARCH project is investigating the potential of video conferencing as a tool to combat isolation among carers of people with dementia. The study by Central Queensland University will see small groups of primary carers take part in weekly video chat groups to facilitate social support and share information. The project builds on previous research that demonstrated the effectiveness of video-based peer support groups for people with chronic conditions. “The program is about connecting isolated carers to each other to positively influence 8
WINTER 2018
their caring experience,” project manager Atosha Clancy said. Rather than having a clinical or therapeutic focus, the groups are designed to build social networks and are run by experienced facilitators over a six-week program. The research project will evaluate the impact of the video-based chat groups on the resilience, quality of life and mental health of rural, regional and remote carers. The social support groups, which include up to eight participants in each session, commenced in May and run until June next year.n