Page 9 - Scleroderma Support Group NZ Newsletter Autumn 2017 - Issue 31

A Carer in Court

For decades full-time carers, paid by the Ministry of Health, but not recognised as
employees, have scraped by on the equivalent of $3 an hour. Support group member

and former full-time carer, Jan Lowe, called enough.
Carer relief is a part of the health system that gives the full-time carer of an incapacitated

person a break.

Often the person cared for will have Alzheimers or other claimed successfully that it could not afford to pay the
serious disabilities. After an assessment, the full time carer is minimum wage and, anyway, it wasn't a job - carers were not
given so many hours a year and has to choose a relief carer of employees. The carers were back to receiving an allowance, not
their choice. This may be for a few hours at a time or specific a minimum wage.
days a week. The Ministry of Health pays for these hours.
So Jan and the union went to the Supreme Court this month to
The relievers do not come under any other home-care argue their final chance for legal redress.
organisations. The Ministry has said they are not "employees",
rather "informal independent contractors"or "volunteers." It Jan says the Ministry's stance was about semantics and was
says that they receive an "allowance", not a wage, therefore totally unjust.
they were not workers for the Ministry.
"They pay for the service without being responsible for holiday
But they pay just $75 for 24 hours, or, a little more than $3 or sick pay or any of the other rights that formal workers have"
per hour. To Jan's knowledge, this hasn't changed since she Jan says.
first worked as a carer 25 years ago. With the help of the
Their 'allowance' has been unchanged for at least 25 years -
Service and Food Workers Union (SFWU), she went to the $75 for a day (24 hours) or $37.50 for a half-day (12 hours).
Employment Court seeking redress - and won. Finally they
This equates to just over $3 per hour.
were employees, not receivers of an allowance.
"How can they, a government department, justify that in any
The Employment Court found that relief carers were
way?" she says.
employees. It said they did the same tasks and had the same
responsibilities as the full-time carer and the same as formal Jan's goal is that the whole issue will be looked at objectively
care-workers in rest homes or home-care organisations. by the Supreme Court and that relief carers will become part of
the formal home-care working system.
As often happens, an appeal followed and the Ministry won
round two, in the Court of Appeal, a year ago. The Ministry She's now awaiting the Supreme Court's decision.

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