BaptistCare NSW & ACT saw turnover of direct care staff decrease by 5.9 percentage points to 29.3% in the October 2023 quarter, after the 15% pay rise for those workers came in on 1 July 2023, according to the Not For Profit provider’s submission to the Fair Work Commission.
However, turnover for indirect care staff, who missed out on the 15% pay rise, persisted at 38.6%, a drop of only 0.3 percentage points, at a time when retention and recruitment of staff is a priority.
BaptistCare NSW & ACT revealed in the submission it currently has 390 positions vacant, or 8.5% of the workforce required.
“BaptistCare has noticed that it is more difficult to retain indirect care workers as a result of the inequity in wages compared to direct care workers,” wrote Liz de Berardis, General Manager People and Culture, BaptistCare NSW & ACT, in the FWC submission.
The submission notes that 76% of indirect care employees are female. Separating direct and indirect care workers “further entrenches inequity in an already feminised industry”, it states.
The different pay rates are dividing the workforce and impacting the quality of care.
“Anecdotally, we have heard reports that staff now classified as indirect care are less willing to assist their direct care colleagues as they are getting paid markedly different rates,” the submission states.
ACCPA backs higher wages for indirect care workers
In a submission to the Fair Work Commission (FWC), the Aged & Community Care Providers Association (ACCPA) has outlined industry support for indirect care workers to receive higher wages.
“The interim wage increase for direct care workers is assisting the industry to attract and retain direct care staff and improving the morale of the sector after an extremely challenging period of time,” ACCPA’s submission, prepared by Australian Business Lawyers & Advisors, states.
"There is also anecdotal evidence that the lack of an increase in wages for indirect care staff has impacted on recruitment and retention of those staff and impacted cultural harmony within employer organisations.
“Therefore, any increase to those workers on work value grounds would... be welcomed by the industry.”
The submission notes that Government failure to fund wage increases would “likely lead to an increase in home closures, which are already accelerating.”
Stuart Hutcheon, Partner at StewartBrown, noted in the submission that a further 10% pay rise for direct care workers would increase staffing costs by an estimated $1.1 billion per annum.
A 25% pay rise for residential indirect care workers would increase staffing costs by a further estimated $763 million per annum.
“The aged care sector would not have the ability to absorb this without being fully funded by the Government,” he noted.
The 18.11% increase for nursing employees requested by the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation would increase staffing costs by a further estimated more than $1 billion per annum (excluding the impact of the 10% increase and 25% increase noted above).
The FWC will hear Stage 3 of the Work Value case in December, with a decision not expected until the New Year.
