Mayor Joe Anderson has met with care workers and pledged his support for their campaign against cuts to sleep-in top-up payments by care companies. 

The support workers are employed by the Alternative Futures Group (AFG) and Lifeways.  Both organisations have advised staff that they will stop paying them  sleep-in top-up payments that are worth up to £90 a week.  The top-ups were introduced to ensure that low-paid staff receive at least the minimum wage.

Both AFG and Lifeways have contracts with Liverpool City Council to provide care for vulnerable people.  The Council has not reduced the funding that the organisations receive to provide the services and pays sufficient for staff to be paid the Living Wage during sleep in periods.

Joe Anderson said:

“Caring for vulnerable people is an important, valuable and highly skilled job and workers deserve to be treated well.

“There is no justification for Alternative Futures Group or Lifeways to cut the incomes of care workers by removing sleep-in top-up payments.  These organisations are still getting the same level of funding from the Council and we can see no reason why they have to attack their workers’ pay. 

“I’ve heard today how this pay cut will cause real hardship for care staff and could force some to seek work elsewhere.  We expect organisations that provide services on behalf of the Council to pay their staff fairly – not plunge them into poverty.” 

Claire a Support Worker and UNISON member said:

"It was great to meet the Mayor and to have his and Council’s full support for our campaign against pay cuts. He confirmed the council pay over £80 to AFG and Lifeways for sleep in-periods. It is outrageous that AFG and Lifeways are pocketing this money rather than paying it to staff who make the service work.  We are already on poverty pay and we can’t afford the pay cuts being made by our employers."