In a submission to the Fair Work Commission (FWC), Uniting NSW/ACT, one of Australia’s largest aged care providers with more than 5,500 aged care residents and 8,600 home care clients, has backed extending the 15% pay rise to include indirect care workers and the additional 10% be granted across the aged care workforce.

“It is hugely disappointing to us that [the 15% wage increase] has not been applied to all employees who work in aged care services and believe the FWC should rectify this in Stage 3,” the letter from Uniting NSW/ACT Executive Director, Tracey Burton, said.

Making the distinction between direct and indirect workers “has been extremely divisive for our teams who see themselves ‘as one’ in their service of our older residents and clients,” Tracey wrote. Her letter includes first-hand accounts of how the decision has impacted staff members (see image above).

Only 600 of Uniting’s 5,000 aged care staff are classified as ‘indirect’, but they work closely and in small teams with ‘direct’ care workers. The division has been harmful to “morale and motivation” and could cause workers to leave the sector – potentially impacting the care delivered to older Australians due to staff shortages, Tracey said.

The division of workers into two categories has also added to the provider’s administrative burden, as payroll has to manually separate direct and ‘indirect’ workers into different pay categories. For workers with dual roles, such as laundry assistant and care worker, this is “particularly complex”.

Uniting has paid indirect care workers a one-off reward bonus but it’s not sustainable for them to continue to do so, Tracey wrote.

In September, the Health Services Union wrote to the FWC arguing indirect care workers should receive the full 25% pay rise and direct care workers should receive the additional 10% not delivered in Stage 1.

The FWC will conduct Stage 3 hearings in December, meaning pay and funding decisions will not happen until well into 2024.